If you’ve ever attempted wardriving—that is, firing up your WiFi-enabled laptop and driving (or walking) around trying to catch an open signal you can use for free Internet access—then you’d better think twice before trying it again. We have seen convictions by the US and UK courts of people accused of stealing bandwidth over WiFi.

Londoner Gregory Straszkiewicz, for instance, was caught wardriving outside a residential building. He was convicted and sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge with a £500 fine. The catch: he did not perpetrate any other crime. He wasn’t stealing information, uploading child porn, nor attempting credit card fraud. He was simply using the Internet over a wireless connection that he did not own nor have permission to access, which is illegal in the UK.

This case is unlike that of American Brian Salcedo, who was caught stealing credit card information over a company’s open WiFi network. He was convicted of fraud, and sentenced to 9 years in prison.

The matter of accessing an open WiFi network can still be considered a gray area by some. For instance, the mere fact that an access point is non-encrypted may be interpreted to mean that the owner doesn’t mind freeloading. However, WiFi devices usually ship with encryption turned off, and hence novice users may not even bother to change these settings. And then there’s also the fact that many store and café owners set up their own free WiFi hotspots to attract patronage from the WiFi-using crowd.

To be safe, make sure you avoid unknowingly accessing the Internet from a wireless network that is not yours. If you need to do so, first try to secure the owner’s permission. And do not perpetrate online fraud! This is sound advice whether you’re wired or un-wired.