A phishing scam has been
uncovered that impersonates rightsholders like HBO and Warner Bros and sends
fake copyright infringement notices and settlement demands to internet service
providers (ISPs) in the UK, US and Australia.
The
scam, which comes in the form of a letter from well-known anti-piracy firms,
aims to trick the ISPs into forwarding the notices onto the targeted customers
and is using high-profile TV shows like Game of Thrones in its ploy.
According
to TorrentFreak,
which has been reporting on the ongoing scam, several employees from a number
of ISPs got in contact to confirm letters were part of a widespread phishing
campaign over the last few weeks.
While some ISPs have
caught on to the scam, others have reportedly forwarded the notices – which
demand a real settlement fee – directly onto their customers. Furthermore, the
domain name used to collect the money keeps changing meaning it's harder to
track and shut down.
The emails have caused
"confusion" at some ISPs as HBO and its anti-piracy outfit – called
IP-Echelon – have indeed sent legitimate notices in the past for the
oft-pirated Game of Thrones TV show. However, when contacted, IP-Echelon
confirmed it was a fraudulent letter. "The notices are fake and not sent
by us. It's a phishing scam," it said.
The phishing letter
states: "We have received information leading us to believe than an
individual has utilised the IP address [redacted] at the noted date and time to
host and/or facilitate the downloading and/or streaming of content."
The notice then lists a
number of "infringement details" including the name of the show, IP
address, timestamp, file size and the torrent name. It also lists a URL where
users can follow to settle the fee and informs the recipient that if they don't
pay they will face legal action.
It adds: "You have
72 hours to access the settlement offer and settle online. If you fail to
settle, the claim(s) will be referred to our attorneys for legal action. At
that point the original settlement offer will no longer be an option and the
amount will increase as a result of us having to involve our attorneys."
Mike Patterson, founder
and chief executive of US-based cybersecurity firm Plixer, said anyone who
receives such a notice should always follow up with a phone call to ensure they
are not being scammed.
"Call the telephone
number on the official website and not the one listed in the email," he
said. "Any emailed notice should be scrutinised for validity. Check the
from-email address to make sure the domain is the same address as the official
web site. Receivers of these types of emails can also hover over links in the
content with their mouse and look at the tool tips that appear."
Representative
Image
Source: IBT
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
Related Post
Many injured in Taiwan train blast
An explosion ripped through a busy commuter train in Taiwan's
capital, Taipei, late on Thursday i
This Game of Thrones fan theory might reveal Jon Snow’s real name
The Winds of Winter, the finale episode of Game of Thrones season 6 gave us the most im
Salman, Anushka dance on 'Pehla Pehla Pyaar Hai'
Bollywood superstar
Salman Khan will be seen dancing with "Sultan" co-star Anushka Sharma
on his 
Syrian forces intervene during online broadcast
Since it became possible for anyone with a smartphone and a decent signal to live-stream video, a
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon