Not only us, but also our cooperation partner Watchlist-Internet is now reporting on it! Criminals send fraudulent emails under the names of fictitious law firms. In it they allege that the recipient has watched a pornographic film and thereby committed a copyright violation. Further information on this can allegedly be found in a file attachment. It hides malware and must not be opened.
For example, Internet users receive an email from Lawyers Krüger und Beck GmbH stating that they have committed a copyright infringement. It reads like this:
Dear First Name Last Name,
The subject of our commission is a copyright infringement on the work “3D Fickparty Part 1 3D Blu-ray” committed via your internet connection. Our client “Tushy Media” has the exclusive right to reproduce this work (§§ 16, 94 f. UrhG). This right has been violated by the transmission of the stream of the said work via your Internet connection.
The investigative firm commissioned by our client was able to determine the following data and legally document it as evidence:
Product name: 3D Fickparty Part 1 3D Blu-ray
IP address: 60.120.130.233
Date/Time: 00.08.2018 24:12:03
User ID: 86953504827
Our client has therefore contacted the Cologne court for information from your internet service provider in accordance with Section 101 Paragraph 9 of the German Copyright Act (UrhG). For this incident, the regional court affirmed both the ownership of the rights and the proper recording of the violation of rights and the functioning of the investigation software. In the decision with file number 49792396-758, your internet service provider was permitted to release your data.
The buffering that is technically necessary when streaming the work mentioned constitutes reproduction in accordance with Section 16 of the Copyright Act and is exclusively the responsibility of the author or the rights holder. It does not matter whether the work is stored permanently or only temporarily. Lawful use of the pirated copy (§ 44a UrhG) is not possible without the permission of the author (see AG Leipzig, judgment of December 21, 2011 - Ref. 200 Ls 390 Js 184/11).
Permitted reproduction for private use (§ 53 UrhG) is out of the question here, as a template that was obviously produced illegally or made publicly available was used. Therefore, our client has a claim against you for injunctive relief and damages (§ 97 UrhG). Furthermore, our client has the right to have all illegal copies still in your possession destroyed (§ 98 UrhG).
Expenses for investigating the infringement - flat rate: 80.00 euros
Business fee §§ 13, 14: 276.22 euros
We demand a flat rate for our client's postal and telecommunications services: 14.62 euros
Compensation for damages: 648.08 euros
Item value: 45608.00 euros
You can find the evidence data, cease and desist declaration as well as the account details and our contact details in the attached file.
Kind regards, Lawyers Krüger and Beck GmbH
Numerous other variations of this message are in circulation.
Other senders of the fake letters
Other fictitious senders of the fraudulent letters include:
- Müller + Walter law firm
- Law firm Schröder & Günther AG
- Law firm Herrmann & Vogt
- Law firm Hofmann + Roth GmbH
- Lawyers Prof. Dr. Schneider and Mayer
- …
The following also applies to warnings about copyright infringement from fictitious law firms.
Malware in the file attachment
The fraudulent legal letters are accompanied by a file attachment in ZIP format. It has titles such as “Demand first name last name from law firm Müller + Walter”. If users open it, they will find another ZIP file inside. It, in turn, hides an MS DOS application about which an antivirus program warns: “This program is dangerous. It executes commands from an attacker.” For this reason, users are not allowed to open a file attachment for supposedly further information about their copyright infringement, because it hides a harmful Trojan. This allows criminals to gain access to someone else's computer, steal data and passwords or install additional malware.
How can you identify fake legal letters?
The fraudulent emails can be recognized by users based on the following points, among others:
- You have neither watched the films in question nor committed any copyright infringement. For this reason, the information provided in the emails is incorrect and should not be taken into account.
- The law firms mentioned in the letters do not exist. A simple internet search will show you this. For example, you will not find an entry for “Kanzlei Müller + Walter” or “Krüger und Beck GmbH”.
- In the case of copyright infringement, real lawyers do not send emails, but rather letters to infringers. That is not the case here.
- Documents are not sent in ZIP format because there is always the risk that criminals will hide malware in them.
- An MS Dos applications can make changes to the operating system and is dangerous. Why it should be necessary as a file attachment in the event of a legal violation cannot be explained.
Have you installed the malware ?
If you have installed the fraudsters' malware antivirus program and scan for malware. If you find any, remove them. If your protection program detect any malware, repeat this step again after a few days, as it may not yet detect malware If you can rule out that your computer is infected, change all of your account passwords. This prevents criminals from having access to your accounts. File a criminal complaint with the police.
How do you protect yourself from malware?
To avoid inadvertently infecting your computer with malware, set up a user account. Unlike an administrator account, it cannot make any changes to the operating system. This prevents you from installing malware unnoticed, as the administrator would have to confirm this by entering a password.
Constantly update your operating system and applications so that security gaps can be closed and not exploited by criminals. Back up important files on external storage media. This prevents data loss that can occur if criminals successfully infect your computer with malware. Use an up-to-date antivirus program and a current firewall.
Source: Watchlist Internet
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