Scammers are sending website contact form submissions that accuse business owners of copyright infringement. These scammers use legal jargon to intimidate readers into believing that they have done something wrong. The form submission (which comes to you as an automated email from your website) contains a link they encourage readers to click in order to see the proof of copyright infringement, but please, DON’T CLICK THIS LINK!
At White Point Digital we are seeing this scam over and over again. In this article we will tell you more about this scam including:
● What the scammers are trying to achieve
● Why these submissions are able to get through security measures
● What we do to protect our clients
Here is an Actual Copy of One of These Form Submissions.
What the Scammer is Trying to Achieve
The content in this form submission is intended to get you to click the link which will download a file that could potentially allow the scammer to take control of your computer and compromise personal information or install malware.
Why These Submissions are Able to Get Through Security Measures
While our websites have many safety features in place, there is no way to block 100% of these attacks. The forms on our websites contain counter-measures for many automated attacks. However, attacks like this one can be from an actual human which are difficult to stop without also stopping legitimate requests.
How We Protect Our Clients from Infringement Claims
At White Point Digital, we never include any content in a website that we don’t have permission to use. In fact, for most of our content, we secure licenses for our clients. On occasion, we may include content from suppliers or other business partners on the website under the direction – and with the permission of our client.
We also provide our clients with “safe harbor” protection from infringement claims associated with inadvertent violations via our terms of service policies provided by Termageddon – our legal partner for website policy creation, management and compliance.
By Emily Bridgman – Photographer/Producer