December 09, 2005
Lyrics and Tab Sites: Your Next! Spend Some Time in Jail!
Finally, The Music Publishers' Association (MPA), which represents US sheet music companies, will launch its first campaign against such sites in 2006. What took you so long! The Internet is jam packed with these illegal sites, numerous enablers/gateways to same, and affiliate programs which encourage this deplorable action. One site has already been shut down. Read the gory details...
The MPA want's jail time
"MPA president Lauren Keiser said he wanted site owners to be jailed. He said unlicensed guitar tabs and song scores were widely available on the internet but were "completely illegal". Mr Keiser said he did not just want to shut websites and impose fines, saying if authorities can "throw in some jail time I think we'll be a little more effective".
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4508158.stm
The first "enabler" is already toast!
I often hear this blabber from Publishers. They don't host the downloads and or pages which contain stolen lyrics and or tabs, they only provide links to other sites which actually do this. In addition, these clever criminals often dream up TOS and rules where they attempt to distance themselves and plead the case that they aren't responsible.
Sorry Charlie, that doesn't work, judging by the following site which used to provide software tools to find other sites which actually hosted this stolen content.
"As of December 6th, 2005 pearLyrics is no longer available due to a cease and desist letter from Warner/Chappell Music Limited." See this site at http://www.pearworks.com/pages/pearLyrics.html
Networks: The end is near!
In preparation for this article I surfed a dozen or so Lyrics and Tab Sites. Every site I hit was running creatives from major and minor Networks in the CPC, CPM, and CPA space. Naturally, I checked each site to see if they had obtained prior approval to either display or provide links to other sites for Lyrics and or tabs. None of them provided this data so not only was the site owner a thief but in fact the Network was an enabler for this illegal activity. The Network welcomes these criminals with open arms and thus provides the motivation (MONEY) for Publishers to continue to build sites with stolen content and or gateways to other sites.
Networks should become proactive and immediately terminate these types of sites and block all future attempts for Publishers of this ilk to join their Networks.
Posted by Steve_S
October 10, 2005
Santa Claus Has A Gun: Year End Abuse Warnings
Abuse on the Internet and in the brick-and-mortar world always increases during the holidays. Although we have previously covered Spam, charity fraud, Phishing, Identity Theft, and other slimy procedures, we feel obligated to cover some of these issues again and include a few additional tips.
Identity Theft Warnings For The Holidays
Tips for the brick-and-mortar-world: Don't flash/display those large stacks of $100 dollar bills in the mall. Criminals are watching and carrying that kind of cash makes you a target. Ladies should wrap their purse around their neck and place it in front of them. Guys should insure that your wallet is in your front pocket where a pick pocket criminal will have a harder time. If your traveling to a foreign land, a money belt which is strapped to your body and under your clothes is a valuable measure of protection. If you are taking your car into your local dealer/garage for service, insure that you remove sensitive documents and valuables. Don't store holiday packages inside your car where a criminal can see them. Place them in your trunk.
Tips for the Internet: Don't shop at unfamiliar stores until you obtain references from your friends. All stores should use a secure page/padlock (https) when they ask for your data. If they don't, leave and never return. If you venture into ebay, please be very careful. Check the feedback on a seller, don't purchase from folks that lack adequate feedback, and if a sellers only means of paying is via Western Union, don't purchase or bid. Try a test email to the seller with questions before you purchase to measure their response time and the ability to answer questions. Use PayPal to pay, since it offers an additional measure of protection and bans a number of countries where crime is rampant.
Hurricane Fraud
These low life slime bags belong in federal prison for decades. U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created the Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force shortly after the storm hit to deter, investigate and prosecute disaster-related federal crimes such as charity fraud, identity theft and insurance fraud.
The brief story of a slime bag: "The Department of Justice (DoJ) indicted a Florida man late Monday afternoon for running an alleged Internet scam seeking to profit from Hurricane Katrina. Gary S. Kraser of Aventura, Fla., is charged with four counts of wire fraud for soliciting charitable donations supposedly intended for the humanitarian relief of Hurricane Katrina victims. According to the DoJ, Kraser falsely claimed that he was piloting flights to Louisiana to provide medical supplies to the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and to evacuate children and others in critical medical condition. Kraser further claimed that he had organized a group of Florida pilots to assist him in his supposed relief efforts. In all, the DoJ claims Kraser raised more than $40,000 through his Web site, AirKatrina.com."
Source: http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/3553516
The DoJ warning page is located here and includes phone numbers. File your complaints on this site.
Email and the Holidays
Email traffic on the net always spikes during the holidays. Be very cautious about any "postcard/holiday card" sent to you via email. Insure that your machine is properly configured with a farewell, anti-virus software, and anti-spyware software. Don't forget to keep your updates and profiles current and run the Windows Update on a regular basis. Don't open attachments and ignore all attempts to entice you into clicking a link to update your PayPal profile and many others. Launch your browser and then type in the URL, as opposed to clicking a link inside a slimy email.
Posted by Steve_S
September 27, 2005
Cancel your AOL account: New York AG Eliot Spitzer slams AOL for slimy practices.
AOL agreed to pay $1.25 million to the state of New York in penalties and costs. They also agreed to clean up their act and stop using low life practices and not honoring customers request to cancel their AOL account. The lessons and techniques which AOL used can guide all of us when we deploy a "cancel" with any third party.
Inside AOL: A culture of deceit.
Their is nothing wrong with trying to "save" a customer with a reasonable sales pitch. The problems occur when you pay commissions to your employees to retain customers and then fail to properly audit the actions of your employees. Spitzer says it better than I can:
"Under the system, consumer service personnel received bonuses worth tens of thousands of dollars if they could successfully dissuade or "save" half of the people who called to cancel service. For several years, AOL had instituted minimum retention or "save" percentages, which consumer representatives were expected to meet. These bonuses, and the minimum "save" rates accompanying them, had the effect of employees not honoring cancellations, or otherwise making cancellation unduly difficult for consumers."
Source: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2005/aug/aug24a_05.html
The AOL/NY AG agreement to stop these practices and clean up their act.
My "cancel" procedures with any third party.
These procedures apply to all types of cancellations. Your ISP, your hosting account, your Newspaper, your Cable TV, and numerous other subscriptions you have.
1. Prepare to take notes before you call or click. This means paper and pen, the full name of the person you spoke to, position, the date and time you called or clicked, and print any forms which are related to your cancel.
2. Conduct yourself in a VERY POLITE manner. Don't use profanity, gutter talk, slang, or other socially repugnant techniques.
3. Expect a sales pitch in an effort to retain you. This is business and no one likes to loose a customer. Even if you hate their guts, try using a simple reason for leaving like, "I no longer require your services" and say no more. Some services like your dedicated server may require written notice as per the contract you signed. Don't fight city hall, just do it and confirm receipt and save your paper work.
4. Get precise with these questions and write it down: Exactly when will my last charge appear on my credit card? What is the effective date of the cancellation? Are their any additional charges?
5. Save all your notes and documentation. Carefully monitor your credit card statements and insure that a new charge for a canceled service does not appear which is contrary to the question and answer you received in Item 4 above. If the vendor continues to bill you, just dispute the charge with your CC provider and don't bother calling your service provider.
Posted by Steve_S