Angela's Desk

If You Receive a Copyright Infringement Notice by Email, Do NOT Click on the Link!!

June 11, 2021

If You Receive a Copyright Infringement Notice by Email, Do NOT Click on the Link!!
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We received the following FAKE copyright infringement accusation this week via email. I’m including it in its entirely so you’ll know what to look for if one comes your way.

Note that the link in the email was to a virus. And, of course, “Nikki’s” email address is fake.

Other signs it’s a fake:

1. She vaguely refers to a website “or one that we host.”
2. There are grammatical errors in the letter.
3. She claims she is victim, but then refers to the victim as if it’s a different person – twice.
4. A family member of ours received the exact same email regarding his own website.
5. The exact same email is posted online but, in that one, Nikki has a different last name. She goes by many other names as well.

You can read more about fake copyright accusations being used to spread malware RIGHT HERE.

FAKE COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT ACCUSATION:

Nikki
Nikki
Johnsonstudio36??9@yahoo.com
pipho
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Copyright Violation Notice

Hello there!

My name is Nikki.

Your website or a website that your organization hosts is infringing on a copyright-protected images owned by myself.

Take a look at this doc with the URLs to my images you utilized and my previous publications to get the evidence of my copyrights.

Download it now and check this out for yourself:

(LINK REMOVED)

I do believe that you deliberately violated my rights under 17 USC Sec. 101 et seq. and could be liable for statutory damage as high as $140,000 as set-forth in Section 504(c)(2) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) therein.

This letter is official notification. I seek the elimination of the infringing materials mentioned above. Please be aware as a service provider, the DMCA requires you, to eliminate or/and deactivate access to the copyrighted materials upon receipt of this particular letter. If you do not cease the use of the previously mentioned infringing materials a law suit will be commenced against you.

I have a strong faith belief that utilization of the copyrighted materials referenced above as allegedly infringing is not permitted by the legal copyright owner, its legal agent, as well as law.

I declare, under consequence of perjury, that the information in this letter is correct and that I am the copyright proprietor or am certified to act on behalf of the proprietor of an exclusive right that is presumably violated.

Best regards,
Nikki Johnson

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Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 19 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), PubPreppers.com (print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).

Angela has lived and traveled across the U.S. with her kids in an RV, settled in a river-side home in Bradenton, FL, and lived on a 52 ft Irwin sailboat. Angela now resides on a mountaintop in Northwest Georgia, where she plans to spend the rest of her days bird watching, gardening, hiking, and taking in all of the amazing sunrises.

WritersWeekly.com - the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday.

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3 Responses to "If You Receive a Copyright Infringement Notice by Email, Do NOT Click on the Link!!"

  1. Pingback: Yes, You CAN Copyright Your Website…Under These Conditions – by Harvey Randall, Esq. | WritersWeekly.com

  2. Pamela Allegretto  June 12, 2021 at 1:20 pm

    Wow, add another one to the list. Thanks for the heads up. I am so over these people.

  3. Richard Atwood/McHenry  June 12, 2021 at 8:24 am

    I was recently hit with a renewal/charge notice of $249 from a tech support company I dealt with some years ago, iYogi. There was no link in the email, which would have caused me to be suspicious. Instead there was only a phone number. I called it, to tell them I haven’t had their service for years. He said yes, but you didn’t cancel your “automatic renewal”, which you can do now. Then the question arose as to which or what of my cards or otherwise had been charged? Anyway, I was successfully led into viewing my online bank account, so they could reverse the charge. Nothing showed up, so he said it must not have posted yet, and we will call you back in ten minutes. I then immediately called the bank — who had me change my password instantly. Naturally they never called me back. Then had to go into town to close out all my bank accounts, and have new account numbers issued. I’m usually pretty savvy, but admit I fell for this one. If in doubt, IGNORE… until an unapproved charge appears somewhere in your finances later. Then you can fight it out.