Scam Copyright Email from a Photographer / Illustrator
Many of the recent emails mention the company Xero Inc and spoof emails to appear as if they are sending from Xero.com.
Updated May 2021: The text of the phishing emails have changed and become slightly more professional using a wider variety of names other than variations on “Mel” like Mary, Theresa and Tamika. The latest versions of the scam are citing a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Copyright Violation Notification in the email, which may be more convincing for U.S. recipients.
We have received reports from clients about a malicious scammer named “Mel” (“Mellie” in one case and “Melina” in the other) filling out their website form, and very aggressively claiming copyright infringement.
The email arrives via your website contact form and accuses you of using copyrighted website images and asks you to click on a link to see the list of the images that are in violation. (DON’T CLICK THE LINK.) The writer threatens to file a complaint with your hosting company and sue you.
The text of the first scam phishing email was:
Hello there!
This is Mellie and I am a qualified illustrator.
I was baffled, frankly speaking, when I came across my images at your website. If you use a copyrighted image without my approval, you need to be aware that you could be sued by the owner.
It’s illegal to use stolen images and it’s so nasty!
Take a look at this document with the links to my images you used at [website URL] and my earlier publications to obtain evidence of my copyrights.
Download it now and check this out for yourself:
[Redacted link to the phishing site]
If you don’t delete the images mentioned in the document above within the next several days, I’ll write a complaint against you to your hosting provider stating that my copyrights have been infringed and I am trying to protect my intellectual property.
And if it doesn’t work, you may be pretty damn sure I am going to report and sue you! And I will not bother myself to let you know of it in advance.
Did you click the link?
Check out our resource page for what to do if you clicked the link in a phishing email.
Some of the professions the scammer is claiming to be include:
- Professional Photographer
- Licensed Photographer
- Experienced photographer and illustrator
- Qualified illustrator
And the sender is going by names similar to “Mel”, but recently other names are being reported such as Simone, Loretta and Christy. Here’s a list:
- Mel
- Melinda
- Melina
- Mellie
- Melisha
- Melaenis
- Melissa
- Melaida
- Melitta
- Melcia
- Meladia
- Melecia
- Meleena
- Melea
- Melangelle
- Melaina
- Melanka
- Melibella
- Melnikon
- Melane
- Melly
- Simone
- Loretta
- Christy
The scammer uses different fake email addresses, fake phone numbers and variations on the last name, as well.
What is the Goal of this Phishing Scam?
The end goal of the scam isn’t clear, but the immediate goal is to scare you and get you to click the link.
Clicking the link may take you to a file download or a website that may allow the hacker to seize control of your device (if your device is not protected by sufficient antivirus software to block it). It may take you to a phishing page asking you to enter more information, which you should never do.
The hacker may then be able to do one of the following:
- Hold your device hostage demanding a ransom
- Exploit having access to your machine to compromise your other accounts like email or banking
- Inject worms/viruses that infect your machine and use it to launch attacks against others
Take a look at how similar the wording is for the second email one of our clients received this week:
From: Mel [mailto:[REMOVED]]
Sent: Monday, August 3, 2020 12:02 PM
To: [REMOVED]
Subject: Why do you use my images for [REMOVED] without my consent! It’s unlawfully! It violates my rights! You must remove images right now!From: Mel <[REMOVED]>
Subject: Why do you use my images for [REMOVED] without my consent! It’s unlawfully! It violates my rights! You must remove images right now!Message Body:
Hi there!This is Melina and I am a experienced photographer and illustrator.
I was surprised, to put it nicely, when I came across my images at your web-site. If you use a copyrighted image without my consent, you need to be aware that you could be sued by the owner.
It’s illegal to use stolen images and it’s so nasty!
Take a look at this document with the links to my images you used at [REMOVED] and my earlier publications to get evidence of my legal copyrights.
Download it now and check this out for yourself:
[MALICIOUS URL REMOVED]
If you don’t remove the images mentioned in the document above within the next several days, I’ll write a complaint against you to your hosting provider stating that my copyrights have been infringed and I am trying to protect my intellectual property.
And if it doesn’t work, you may be pretty damn sure I am going to report and sue you! And I will not bother myself to let you know of it in advance.
—
This mail is sent via contact form on [REMOVED]
In May 2021, the text and phrasing of the email has been updated to sound more professional quoting U.S. Copyright statutes. Take a look at an example from May 2021:
Subject: [URL REMOVED] Dmca Copyright Infringement Notification
My name is Teresa. (We’ve also seen Brittany being used a lot)Your website or a website that your company hosts is infringing on a copyright-protected images owned by myself.
Check out this document with the links to my images you used at [URL REMOVED] and my earlier publications to get the evidence of my copyrights.
Download it right now and check this out for yourself:
[Google sites URL redacted]
I believe you have willfully infringed my rights under 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq. and could be liable for statutory damages as high as $150,000 as set forth in Section 504(c)(2) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (”DMCA”) therein.
This letter is official notification. I seek the removal of the infringing material referenced above. Please take note as a service provider, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires you, to remove or disable access to the infringing materials upon receipt of this notice. If you do not cease the use of the aforementioned copyrighted material a lawsuit will be commenced against you.
I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above as allegedly infringing is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Best regards,
How to Spot a Phishing Email
- Awkward Grammar: Look for awkward grammar and word usage such as “It’s unlawfully!”, in this case.
- Check Spelling: Bad spelling is also another red flag.
- Hover Over a Link to See the True URL (but NEVER click it): Phishing scams will try to hide the true URL to which the link leads. When you hover, you can see the true destination of the URL, regardless of what the link says.
- Be Suspicious of Unsolicited Attachments: Never click on or download an unsolicited or unexpected unusual attachment. Always be suspicious of this.
- Don’t Let Them Intimidate You: Phishing email attempts frequently try to elicit an emotional response from you by using inflammatory or threatening language such as the threat to sue you and file a complaint with your host in this example. Another common tactic is to threaten that an account has been suspended or that you have committed a crime or are in violation of an agreement. Always be suspicious and take a beat before acting on any communication that uses threats.
Did you click the link?
Check out our resource page for what to do if you clicked the link in a phishing email.
Have you received a similar email via your contact form?
Since we’ve had so many reports of this phishing scam, we wanted to spread the word about it since it uses a fairly effective scare tactic against businesses. Let us know in the comments if you’ve received a similar phishing scam email via the contact form on your website.
Andrea Sacchi
I have received a couple but last night I received the following from Melissa Johnson, which is funny as all the images in my website have been created with a help of a web designer.
My name is Melissa.
Your website or a website that your company hosts is violating the copyright-protected images owned by me personally.
Take a look at this report with the URLs to my images you used at {name of MY website} and my earlier publications to obtain the evidence of my copyrights.
Download it now and check this out for yourself:
[link removed]
I do think you’ve willfully violated my rights under 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq. and could be liable for statutory damage of up to $150,000 as set-forth in Section 504 (c) (2) of the Digital millennium copyright act (”DMCA”) therein.
This message is official notice. I demand the elimination of the infringing materials mentioned above. Please be aware as a company, the Dmca demands you, to eliminate and disable access to the infringing materials upon receipt of this notification letter. In case you do not stop the use of the above mentioned infringing content a law suit will likely be initiated against you.
I have a good belief that use of the copyrighted materials referenced above as allegedly violating is not approved by the legal copyright owner, its agent, as well as legislation.
I declare, under consequence of perjury, that the information in this letter is correct and that I am the legal copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Best regards,
Melissa Johnson
08/04/2021
Liz Eisworth
Thank you for sharing what you received.
Alex Hage
Got the same email, i actually click on the link to try to download this file but nothing happened and it wouldn’t download, hopefully I’m ok.
My name is Steven.
Your website or a website that your organization hosts is violating the copyrighted images owned by myself.
Check out this doc with the links to my images you used at(my website url) and my previous publications to get the evidence of my copyrights.
Download it now and check this out for yourself:
(link)
I really believe you’ve deliberately violated my rights under 17 U.S.C. Sec. 101 et seq. and can be liable for statutory damages 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 notice. I demand the elimination of the infringing materials described above. Take note as a service provider, the DMCA requires you, to remove or deactivate access to the infringing materials upon receipt of this particular letter. In case you do not cease the utilization of the aforementioned copyrighted materials a court action will be commenced against you.
I have a strong self-belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above as allegedly violating is not approved by the legal copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
I declare, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this letter is correct and that I am currently the legal copyright owner or am permitted to act on behalf of the proprietor of an exclusive right that is presumably violated.
Regards,
Steven Nutalapati
08/03/2021
Lee Barnard
My website recently received a message via a web form about copyrighted images. it contains a link to “verify” the veracity of the claim. I have not clicked on it because I think its a scam but frankly I’m not sure. I sent it to the company that created our site to try and verify any image. Here is the message I received.
****************************************************
Hello!
My name is Sarah.
Your website or a website that your organization hosts is infringing on a copyrighted images owned by myself.
Take a look at this doc with the URLs to my images you utilized at [url removed] and my earlier publication to obtain the evidence of my copyrights.
Download it right now and check this out for yourself:
[url removed]
I believe you have willfully infringed my legal rights under 17 USC Sec. 101 et seq. and could possibly be liable for statutory damage of up to $120,000 as set-forth in Sec. 504(c)(2) of the Digital millennium copyright act (DMCA) therein.
This letter is official notice. I seek the elimination of the infringing materials referenced above. Please be aware as a company, the Dmca requires you, to eliminate or/and deactivate access to the infringing materials upon receipt of this notice. If you do not stop the use of the aforementioned copyrighted content a lawsuit will be started against you.
I have a good belief that use of the copyrighted materials referenced above as presumably violating is not approved by the copyright proprietor, its legal agent, as well as legislation.
I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this message is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am certified to act on behalf of the proprietor of an exclusive right that is allegedly violated.
Sincerely,
Sarah Black
**************************************************************
Liz Eisworth
I’d wager a whole lot of money it is most definitely a scam. You’re instinct to not click the link is spot on! Thanks for sharing the info.
Pat K
Received this today. Was scared for a minute, but also confused, as all images on our site were taken by us.
Glad my instincts were correct, seems to be almost word for word with the more recent, more “professional” sounding version of the scam.
Squarespace recommends adding a reCAPTCHA to minimize spam submissions. Stay safe everyone!
My name is Marsha.
Your website or a website that your company hosts is violating the copyright protected images owned by me personally.
Take a look at this doc with the hyperlinks to my images you used at [url redacted] and my previous publications to obtain the proof of my copyrights.
Download it right now and check this out for yourself:
[url redacted]
In my opinion you’ve willfully violated my rights under 17 USC Section 101 et seq. and can be liable for statutory damages as high as $130,000 as set forth in Sec. 504(c)(2) of the Digital millennium copyright act (”DMCA”) therein.
This message is official notice. I demand the elimination of the infringing materials mentioned above. Please take note as a service provider, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act requires you, to eliminate or terminate access to the copyrighted content upon receipt of this particular notice. In case you don’t cease the utilization of the aforementioned infringing materials a law suit will likely be initiated against you.
I do have a good self-belief that use of the copyrighted materials mentioned above as allegedly violating is not approved by the legal copyright proprietor, its legal agent, as well as legislation.
I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this letter is correct and that I am the legal copyright proprietor or am certified to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is presumably infringed.
Best regards,
Marsha Rollins
07/21/2021
Liz Eisworth
Thank you for sharing the info!
Mary
Today, I received this latest version you posted through the email submission on my therapy website. They used the name Christine Johnson. At first it was a bit alarming as I read quickly through the legal terms. But I soon realized that the wording was very strange and indicative of a non english speaker/writer and a scam. I did not click the links as I know what can happen!
Thank you so much for posting this and making people aware!
Mary
Liz Eisworth
You’re welcome…thanks for sharing the name you were contacted by!