While Waves isn’t sending SWAT teams to bedroom studios, they do:

Downloading "cracked" software from Reddit links or third-party sites carries a high risk of malware, miners, or trojans being bundled with the installer. Additionally, Waves uses a specific central licensing system (Waves Central) that often breaks or causes DAW instability when bypassed.

"Just buy the $25/month Waves subscription. It is cheaper than a Netflix account and you get everything legally."