I almost fell for this scam.!

byDennis75

233 followers

7 years ago

IT APPEARS THERE'S ALOT OF SCAMS OUT THERE...

Two days ago I received a letter from an unknown company. There was a return address but no name of any kind. I though this was odd...especially given the fact that the address the letter was mailed to was not my own. It was sent to another business from which my company sometimes rents classroom space. My website advertises this address as a place where we hold courses. Aside from that it really has nothing to do with us.

Before opening the letter, I googled the address it was supposedly sent from. It was from a town called Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The town is real but the actual address is a vacant lot in a fairly run-down part of town.

The letter stated that it was sent from a company that represents the interests of a global news agency Agence France Presse. I was informed that one of the images on my website has been used illegally and without permission. This company demanded that I pay over $200 Canadian for damages caused. I am not sure what the name of this company actually is as all they had on their letterhead was PicRights and PicRights.com for website which seems legitimate.

Further research found this info https://mmjdoctor.com/picrights-fraudulent-copyright-enforce...

and also this https://www.extortionletterinfo.com/forum/getty-images-lette...

I think this is a scam but if someone else has heard of this operation and believes it to be a legitimate operation I would love to hear from you.

For everyone else at WA, I would strongly suggest not sending any money if or when you receive anything from PicRights.

In fact, I find it very interesting that a legitimate company would not put their name on the envelope above the return address, provide a "non-existent" place to return the letter to if undeliverable and contact me through someone else's address...

I would love to hear your thoughts and any other scams you may have come across.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this!!!

Dennis