In recent weeks, scams that target small businesses have gotten more brazen than ever and have been arriving via either the mails or email at a speedier than ever clip. Some are phishing scams that attempt to steal personal information or hack online accounts through the use of deception. Those are usually easy to spot by astute Internet users, such as the “Best Buy / Geek Squad Service Renewal” invoice for services that you have never used, or the various “Domain Registration Renewal” scams that imply that your website is ready to be de-indexed by Google. The people behind these schemes prey upon our fears and try to convey a sense of urgency to their bogus messages. An infinitely small percentage of recipients who fall prey (typically more trusting older folks) earn these thieves a small fortune. My main words of advice when receiving any such solicitation are to step back, take a deep breath, and avoid the urge to panic.

Through the use of an effective spam blocker, most of these scams will go directly into your email junk folder, but a few will slip by. Perhaps due to spam filtering, along with a general awareness regarding email scams, a few of the latest shakedowns have taken the form of letters sent by law firms, demanding payment for alleged violations of various legal standards on the part of your website. The perpetrators also know that they face little prospect of prosecution due to recent reallocations of personnel in federal law enforcement and consumer protection agencies. Buoyed by that boldness and confidence, the payments demanded are often in the thousands of dollars.

Two “Shakedown” Scams Currently Making the Rounds

The slang word “shakedown” refers to an extortion attempt that seeks to secure money from victims through the use of threats, blackmail, or alleged authority. So-called “protection” rackets employed by organized crime syndicates are a classic example. Today, one of the shakedowns that has been appearing more frequently is the so-called Image Copyright Infringement scam. This involves a third-party firm (sometimes a law firm) that alleges that it is representing the interests of a photographer who is suffering serious financial damages as a result of your unauthorized use of his copyrighted image on your website. Sometimes in highly persuasive terms, their solicitation outlines that removing the offending image from your website does not remove your liability for damages. They then offer you the opportunity for an out-of-court settlement. The examples I have most frequently seen come from a company called Copytrack GmbH  (also operating under the names RD Legal GmbH and Pixlegal GmbH), based in Germany. The time-limited settlement is typically in the order of $750.00 or €900.00, before they send you a second or third communication that inevitably raises the settlement ante, then threatens to turn the matter over to an associated law firm within your jurisdiction. Ignoring this solicitation will not lead to you being contacted by an “associated law firm”, but responding in any manner will demonstrate that you have a pulse and designate you as a more susceptible victim. Doing a Google image search for the photo in question will often show it being used on dozens, if not hundreds, of other websites and available as either a stock image or within the public domain. Of course, if you or your website designer has actually used a copyrighted image without permission, that is another matter, but this is almost never the case. To learn more about the Copytrack scam, click here:    
https://www.gobluemedia.com/blog/copyright-infringement-notice-email-copytrack/

The second “shakedown” that I have recently seen comes in the form of emails from an outfit called Pro Veritas Law LLC, operated by a reportedly suspended attorney based in Los Angeles. These demand notices allege that the recipient’s website is in violation of California invasion of privacy statutes due to its use of tracking pixels that are built into Google Analytics and YouTube, without proper consent disclosure or written consent. In a recent instance I have viewed, the total statutory damages came to $37,500.00, not including “attorney fees, litigation costs, or punitive damages”. They are clearly playing upon the fears of their recipients. If their gripe is actually with Google Analytics and YouTube, why don’t they just sue Alphabet for billions of dollars? Probably because they know their frivolous lawsuit would be thrown out of court and that Alphabet has unlimited financial resources to defend itself. If you are so inclined, have your attorney draft a cease-and-desist letter responding to this company, denying their frivolous claims. Here is a link to a useful template:   
https://www.andrewwatters.com/hall-of-shame/pro-veritas-law/PV-reply.pdf

Fight Back!

First of all, pay close attention to unsafe content warnings in your email software. Then never respond to requests for your private information, beware of messages that convey a sense of urgency, and never click on unknown links. If you are one of the millions of people who use Gmail as your email service provider, you can report a phishing email that may have made its way to the inbox on your computer by opening the message, clicking on the three vertical dots next to the “Reply” icon, then clicking on “Report phishing.” If a phishing email asks you to make a payment via PayPal, forward the entire email to phishing@paypal.com.

You may also forward phishing emails to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org. This organization includes ISPs, banks, online security companies, and law enforcement agencies. You can also report phishing attempts to the Federal Trade Commission at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/. In the event that you have actually been a victim of a phishing scam, first contact your bank or credit card company, where you will probably want to change passwords and cancel your credit card. Then file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at https://www.ic3.gov/. In most instances, you may also file a complaint with the office of your state attorney general.

Nobody likes being a victim of what is essentially online crime, but it is good to know how to protect yourself and how to take responsive measures when necessary.