Got a threatening phone call tuesday

[Jack]

Some guy called me yesterday from Prenda Law, threatening me with legal action for "copyright infringement" and said I should've already received a letter in the mail describing their letter to settle, yada yada yada. The whole conversation seemed like a pile of horse crap to me as it had all of the hallmarks of an extortion attempt/scammer. Did some research and this group is apparently a copyright troll. Basically they enter into an agreement with a copyright holder to share the profits of settlements, subpena hundreds or thousands of peoples information based on who they think is downloading copyrighted material, then try to pressure them into settling by saying it will cost less than a federal case/court costs. If I remember correctly, the number requested of me was around 3500. Through the magic of google, I learned the company employed by this law firm to track IP addresses is owned by a relative of one of the people in the law firm(sounds to me like he "swears" these numbers are right, to keep the stream of potential victims flowing). If anyone has any experience in dealing with these people I would love to hear about it.

If you're curious, here is where I got most of my information.

http://dietrolldie.com/about/

 

[Mjolnir]

Interesting...

 

[O_R_B_1]

Do they have proof of "copyright infringement"? If not tell them to go pound sand.

 

[Jack]

Do they have proof of "copyright infringement"? If not tell them to go pound sand.

That is pretty much what I did. They said it was linked to my IP address, that I was using when I was living in an apartment complex in metairie. I'd hardly consider that any type of proof considering how many ways you can get onto someone else's network. Next time they call I'm going to give them the standard I didn't do it, you have no proof I did this, good luck getting a dime out of me, etc.

 

[762NATO]

Got any attorney friends?

 

[Leonidas]

My useless drug addict brother-in-law was doing that crap without my knowledge, while I was out earning the money to support his lazy a__. When I found out, I threw him out and erased all the files. Last we heard anything, he was in jail somewhere in Texas. Look for him there.

 

[1911Dave]

My useless drug addict brother-in-law was doing that crap without my knowledge, while I was out earning the money to support his lazy a__. When I found out, I threw him out and erased all the files. Last we heard anything, he was in jail somewhere in Texas. Look for him there.

Wow sounds like yours and my brother in law are the same person haha

 

[Leonidas]

Wow sounds like yours and my brother in law are the same person haha

Prolly. Y'know he was the fool driving the boat during the accident when all those folks lost their guns.

 

[1911Dave]

Prolly. Y'know he was the fool driving the boat during the accident when all those folks lost their guns.

Damn. Mine is thankfully in jail right now not causing trouble.

 

[Jack]

Got any attorney friends?

My sister graduated top 10% of her class from loyola last year and just recently passed the bar, my mom works at the st. charles parish court house, and I have 4 lawyer friends. If this actually evolves into something worth anyone's time I'll be pretty well covered lol.

 

[alto8345]

Some guy called me yesterday from Prenda Law, threatening me with legal action for "copyright infringement" and said I should've already received a letter in the mail describing their letter to settle, yada yada yada. The whole conversation seemed like a pile of horse crap to me as it had all of the hallmarks of an extortion attempt/scammer. Did some research and this group is apparently a copyright troll. Basically they enter into an agreement with a copyright holder to share the profits of settlements, subpena hundreds or thousands of peoples information based on who they think is downloading copyrighted material, then try to pressure them into settling by saying it will cost less than a federal case/court costs. If I remember correctly, the number requested of me was around 3500. Through the magic of google, I learned the company employed by this law firm to track IP addresses is owned by a relative of one of the people in the law firm(sounds to me like he "swears" these numbers are right, to keep the stream of potential victims flowing). If anyone has any experience in dealing with these people I would love to hear about it.

If you're curious, here is where I got most of my information.

http://dietrolldie.com/about/

i manage an auto shop and got a letter like that.. something about my website have infringement on copyright of something.. blah, blah, blah... so I called the company that takes care of our website and they told us that they just try to scare peeps into paying settlements.

 

[Old_Demon]

Not the first time it's been done / tried. Here's a thread I started about it a while back:

http://www.bayoushooter.com/forums/showthread.php?49629-Spanky-You-May-Want-To-Check-Into-This

Bottom line was the owner of the sites paid big bucks to avoid the legal expenses. About 6 months later RightHaven (the extorting law firm) was sued and lost in court, so they can't sue or threaten anymore.

Do some homework, but personally I would tell them to go pound sand.

 

[Mjolnir]

Prolly. Y'know he was the fool driving the boat during the accident when all those folks lost their guns.

Oh, yeah!! I remember now!

 

[sandman7925]

I would have told them I would happily pay the 3500 to avoid a court case but I only deal in cash so we have to meet in person. See how fast they hang up

 

[Russo]

I would have told them I would happily pay the 3500 to avoid a court case but I only deal in cash so we have to meet in person. See how fast they hang up

 

[CEHollier]

Google Prenda Law Firm Scam. You will get the picture fast.

 

[headspace]

I would have told them I would happily pay the 3500 to avoid a court case but I only deal in cash so we have to meet in person. See how fast they hang up

If they ever agree to that for anybody, give us a heads up so we can throw them a nice little party..

 

[sandman7925]

If they ever agree to that for anybody, give us a heads up so we can throw them a nice little party..

Oh that would be fun

 

[oleheat]

It's always a treat when the scammers attempt their routine....I've actually enjoyed some of the conversations we've had over the years.

 

[Jack]

It's always a treat when the scammers attempt their routine....I've actually enjoyed some of the conversations we've had over the years.

I'm looking forward to some as well. When I get this settlement letter, I'll try to take a picture of it and post it up on here for everyone.