The takedown scam
The fake DMCA notice that found me on exactly the wrong morning (I almost fell fort it).
Recent Happenings
Big week for scams. Scam Inc. a podcast by The Economist won a Peabody Award
Almost simultaneously, “Scam Center Simulator” premiered on Steam.
And this undercover procurement of scam software was shared by 404 folks.
Every now and then I come across a nifty little scam that makes me smile. Some of them are fascinating demonstrations that human nature is full of ingenuity, especially when it comes to making money, and even more so online.
I co-own Redoux, a fragrance brand. I manage the operational portion of it, which these days primarily involves the tech stack: the website and business email. As such, I’m the recipient of numerous daily emails corresponding to taxes, bills, trade shows, and charlatans. Rude marketers. A barrage of ChatGPT pitches. Worse, many of them Copilot. Of course, I also get the occasional ruffian. We’ve had numerous attempts––including a few successful ones––of people buying stuff from us and then issuing a chargeback.
Recently, I checked my inbox and found this bastard staring back at me:
TITLE: `DMCA Copyright Infringement Website`
Redoux has had some run-ins with the law. In fact, we once got something akin to a cease and desist for matters regarding copyright. An entirely unfortunate misunderstanding that only was cleared after an in-person dialogue with a suit. The mere prospect still managed to positively shock us for a few days. Pointing a lawsuit to a small business is like pointing a Magnum 44 to a small animal. And in a city like New York, no quarter is given; they will have you for breakfast.
DMCAs, copyright, and take downs had been in my mind, especially the morning I found that email. I had been (and continue to be) working on matters that concern the removal of nonconsensual online content, either through the newly passed TAKE IT DOWN Act or more ancient mechanisms like the DMCA. That same week, I was negotiating a time slot with a firm that helped adult content creators remove content that was pirated using DMCA. My first instinct was thus to take the email with seriousness.
The blog they called out on the email was made by an SEO marketing firm we had hired back in the day to improve Redoux’s search ranking. Their suggestion for us was to write blogs about general matters of interest in our niche (i.e., whether you should use bottled soap or a bar). The idea is that you want to fill in the information gap for search terms that have decent monthly traction. If people are looking at authoritative advice that would finally settle the matter in the longstanding rivalry between bars and bottles, then perhaps they may just linger long enough in your website such that they might buy something on their way out.
Chez Redoux someone was put in charge of cranking out those blogs. This is pre-GPT era, so I believe that someone had an English major. My first suspicion was that they had gotten lazy. They copy-pasted some text, perhaps an image, with no attribution, all because they needed to attend some scene-y design event in some forsaken place in Brooklyn. Their lack of citation manners was now costing me a DMCA TAKEDOWN. I was annoyed. But it was odd… a reverse image search did not reveal any obvious owner. The purported website looked wack and with no trace of the reported image.
The lawyers’ website was equally odd, like misplaced plaster wall in a motel room. Dubious provenance. Phoenix address, 4th floor? Not possible. Arizona is flat, sprawled, and hot. Building upwards only gets you closer to the sun, expand towards the ocean at all costs. The house of cards was falling down quickly. No semblance of an office where the address pointed to. No lawyer by the name of Noah Carter. All bogus images, generated by some computer somewhere.
The reason? Also just SEO. To rank higher on search you not only need to produce content that fills keyword voids. You need backlinks: higher ranking websites who deemed you worthy of a a hyperlink. The NY Times wrote about you? Must mean you are legit. These reputable backlinks tell Mr. Google to place you higher. The first page is an absolute must, the top spot is the most coveted. But not everybody will do this in an honest God-fearing way. Players play. A poor website administrator somewhere read the takedown notice and complied, adding a link at Noah Carter’s behest.
The scam itself is rather innocuous. Sure, you get a rude jolt in the AM while the caffeine is still penetrating your nervous system. But no bank wire was asked, no cryptocurrency demanded, no fake relative seemingly in inevitable danger––jail, car accident. Those ones in the wrong ears of a senior citizen could cause serious mental damage; exploding veins, heart arrest to follow. Vicious stuff. This backlink scheme is prank territory, mostly harmless. Today, “ice baths in australia” returns the above website within the first 8 results. The scheme might be working. Unfortunately for them, I won’t be falling for it today. Noah Carter, wherever you are, better luck next time.