The Nationwide Legal DMCA Scam Returns – There’s a Lesson Here
14225
post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-14225,single-format-standard,bridge-core-1.0.7,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode-title-hidden,qode_grid_1300,hide_top_bar_on_mobile_header,qode-content-sidebar-responsive,qode-child-theme-ver-1.0.0,qode-theme-ver-18.2.1,qode-theme-bridge,disabled_footer_bottom,qode_header_in_grid,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-6.0.2,vc_responsive

12 Mar The Nationwide Legal DMCA Scam Returns – There’s a Lesson Here

Posted at 09:33h in education by

On a few occasions last year I wrote about a scam in which someone who pretends to be an attorney from a law firm called Nationwide Legal or Arthur Davidson Legal sends an email stating that a website owner has committed a copyright violation. The recourse that they seek is a link to another website for credit for the image. All of the details of the scam can be read here, here, and here. All that to say, the scam is back!

On Friday morning I got an email from someone claiming to be Victoria Boyd, Trademark Attorney at Nationwide Legal. It’s the same scam as before. The difference is that now the website for the fake firm is hosted a different domain since the old site was shuttered by the hosting service. The pictures are the same, the typos are the same, the nonsensical logic is the same, and the scam is the same. 

Lessons for Everyone

1. Don’t be a lame SEO backlink scammer.

 
2. If you do get an email from someone claiming to be an attorney (or similarly tries to appear authoritative) and it doesn’t seem right, look at all of the context clues. In this case there were a lot of context clues that made it fairly obvious that there was a scam at play. The first of those clues being that the email was addressed to “owner of website” and not to any particular person.
 
3. Don’t click on links in emails that you weren’t expecting.

Are you a tech coach or media specialist looking for some new ideas to share with your colleagues? If so, 50 Tech Tuesday Tips is an eBook you need. You can get it right here.

On a few occasions last year I wrote about a scam in which someone who pretends to be an attorney from a law firm called Nationwide Legal or Arthur Davidson Legal sends an email stating that a website owner has committed a copyright violation. The recourse that they seek is a link to another website for credit for the image. All of the details of the scam can be read here, here, and here. All that to say, the scam is back!On Friday morning I got an email from someone claiming to be Victoria Boyd, Trademark Attorney at Nationwide Legal. It’s the same scam as before. The difference is that now the website for the fake firm is hosted a different domain since the old site was shuttered by the hosting service. The pictures are the same, the typos are the same, the nonsensical logic is the same, and the scam is the same. Lessons for Everyone1. Don’t be a lame SEO backlink scammer. 2. If you do get an email from someone claiming to be an attorney (or similarly tries to appear authoritative) and it doesn’t seem right, look at all of the context clues. In this case there were a lot of context clues that made it fairly obvious that there was a scam at play. The first of those clues being that the email was addressed to “owner of website” and not to any particular person. 3. Don’t click on links in emails that you weren’t expecting.Resources on CopyrightCopyright for Teachers – A Webinar With Dr. Beth HollandStanford Copyright and Fair Use CenterCopyright and Creative Commons Explained by Common CraftHow to File a DMCA Takedown Notice With GoogleHow to File a Copyright Claim on Facebook

Are you a tech coach or media specialist looking for some new ideas to share with your colleagues? If so, 50 Tech Tuesday Tips is an eBook you need. You can get it right here.digital citizenship, DMCA, Free Technology For Teachers, Scam, SEORead More

Print page
0 Likes
No Comments

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.