In a previous article, I disclosed what kind of messages I receive daily on my blogs, LinkedIn, and social media.
A few days ago, I received a message alerting me to copyright infringement on a photo on my blog, which seemed legit as it was sent on behalf of a reputable company.
We have tried contacting you via your social media and email, but are yet to receive a response.
It has come to our attention that you are using our client’s photographs on seocopywriting.ro without a valid licence.
We have already posted out all supporting documents to the address of your office. Please confirm once you have received them.
In the meantime, we would like to invite you to settle this dispute by making the below payment of £500.
Visual Rights Group Ltd
KBC Bank London
IBAN: GB39 KRED 1654 8703 1135 11
Account Number: 03113511
Sort Code: 16-54-87
Alternatively, you can also pay with cryptocurrency with a 50% discount.
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Firstly, I use my own photos or paintings in the public domain. I have extensive experience in this area. So, I was baffled by the message.
Furthermore, as shown above, they accept cryptocurrencies for this ambiguous copyright infringement without specifying which photo is involved.
As I became highly intrigued by this, I visited the webpage of Visual Rights Group, where they asserted that they would never request payment in cryptocurrencies to settle a claim.
I acknowledge that I get a lot of phishing messages through my emails and blogs, but this one appeared to be really genuine.
Please be careful!
Photo by Mikhail Nilov: https://www.pexels.com/photo/wood-people-art-night-6964171/
