Jul 25, 2024
It’s no surprise that, in 2024, businesses are constantly facing new cyber threats, with each evolution more sophisticated than the last. This is in part due to the rise of generative AI, which allows scammers to create seemingly credible threats that earn victims’ trust and exploit it. Among these evolving threats, a new form of scam has surfaced, leveraging the complexities of copyright law to take advantage of unsuspecting companies. Fake DMCA takedowns, while not necessarily new, have evolved in the wake of AI, using fraudulent legal threats to intimidate businesses to pay unwarranted licensing fees, or in a more recent case, add backlinks to their website for the SEO purposes of other companies.
Blade Technologies, as a leader in cybersecurity solutions, is dedicated to staying at the forefront of these deceptive practices and new cyber threats. In this article, our experts explore how these fraudulent DMCA claims operate, the impact they have on businesses, and how you can protect your company from these threats.
Fake DMCA Threats: The Most Recent Scam
In late March 2024, the writer behind the newsletter Tedium received a “DMCA Copyright Infringement Notice” from a company called “Commonwealth Legal,” who claimed to represent the “Intellectual Property division” of a brand known as Tech4Gods. Ernie Smith, the author of the newsletter, had recently used a stock image from Unsplash in a blog post that he had purchased from the service. However, in a seemingly legitimate email from Commonwealth Legal, the firm claimed that the image belonged to their client, Tech4Gods, and that Smith needed to immediately “add a credit” to the company through a link to their website. Through credible-looking documentation, the firm threatened to take legal action against Smith if the backlink was not added within five business days.
However, Smith quickly became suspicious of the email and the firm that sent it. On their website, Commonwealth Legal claimed to be based in Arizona, touting a 2018 copyright on the site. However, the domain was actually registered on March 1, 2024, to an IP address in Canada. The real red flag came in the form of attorney headshots displayed on the site, all of which seemed to be AI-generated and didn’t lead back to any real people.
But why would a scammer go through the hassle of creating a fake company, website, and legal demand only to ask for a link? Smith and other SEO experts believe it was done to gain backlinks, a search engine optimization tactic that attempts to raise the authority of a website and enhance their ranking in organic search results. While this particular scam didn’t demand any monetary payment, it has opened the door, and our eyes, to what AI is capable of in the hands of scam artists and cyber criminals.
What is a DMCA Takedown, and What is AI’s Role?
Smith’s newsletter may not have been targeted for monetary gain, but DMCA takedowns integrated with artificial intelligence have the potential to cause serious damage to businesses of all sizes. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides a framework for resolving copyright disputes over digital content. Legitimate DMCA takedown notices are a common legal tool used to enforce copyright protections, but the widespread availability of AI tools has introduced new complexities to this practice.
With AI technology, scammers can produce professional-looking documents with minimal technical skill. They can easily generate official-seeming legal notices, complete with fake law firm letterheads and signatures, and as seen in Ernie Smith’s case, they can even create fake websites to add to their credibility. AI not only makes the creation of fake documents easier, but it also allows scammers to automate the distribution of these fraudulent notices at scale, targeting multiple businesses quickly and efficiently. These fake and often credible-looking DMCA notices exploit the fear of legal repercussions and the complexity of copyright laws, making it challenging for businesses to discern legitimate claims without professional help.
The Impact of Fake DMCA Notices on Businesses
Using fake DMCA notices for backlinks and SEO gain is only the beginning, with the repercussions of these fraudulent notices extending far beyond the immediate stress of receiving a legal threat. In the hands of cyber criminals and scammers, the impacts can be profound, affecting various facets of your business.
Financial Strain
In the wrong hands, AI technology can allow scammers to create fraudulent DMCA notices for monetary gain, threatening legal action against businesses if they do not pay a fine. Even if a business identifies the notice as a scam, consulting with legal experts to confirm the legitimacy of such notices and potentially defending against them can lead to significant legal expenses. For those who mistakenly comply with the demands, the unnecessary financial payouts can be substantial.
Operational Disruption
Even if the notice demands something as seemingly small as a backlink, responding to any fraudulent claim can take considerable time and resources from your company. Your management team’s focus shifts from operational productivity to crisis management, which can disrupt your business activities, delay project timelines, and lead to an overall decline in productivity.
Reputational Damage
Just because the legal threat is fake doesn’t make it any less damaging. The mere association with a legal dispute, even a fraudulent one, can harm your company’s reputation. Customers and partners may view the business as legally irresponsible or question its operational integrity, and spending more time on crisis management can cause longer lead times for clients, potentially leading to lost business opportunities and client trust.
Increased Vulnerability
Like phishing scams, fake DMCA notices prey on the human aspect of a business, not its physical cybersecurity weaknesses. Engaging with these scams can expose your business to further cyber threats, as scammers who receive a response to their fraudulent emails will likely take note and mark your business as a potential target for future attacks.
How to Identify and React to Fake DMCA Notices
Regardless of the demand, recognizing and responding appropriately to fake DMCA threats is essential for protecting your business. Here are some practical tips on how to spot these scams and the actions you should take if you suspect a DMCA notice is fraudulent.
Spotting Red Flags in DMCA Notices
One of the first things you should look at when receiving a legal notice of any kind is the sender's information. Verify the legitimacy of the law firm or entity sending the notice, as scammers often use names that sound legitimate but don’t exist in any legal directory or link back to any legitimate company. Even with AI, there may be generic greetings, like “Dear Sir/Madam,” grammatical mistakes, and awkward phrasing, all of which may be signs that the notice is not from a professional legal entity.
Also, be wary of any notices that demand immediate action under the threat of severe consequences, whether they’re monetary, court-based, or otherwise. Legitimate legal actions typically allow reasonable time for response, and likely won’t use intense language to convey this message. Finally, if any suspicious links or attachments are included in the email, do not click on or open them, especially if the email appears fraudulent. They may contain malware that could further compromise your systems, raising the threat level.
Steps to Take if You Receive a Suspicious Legal Notice
While receiving a threatening email can be stressful, there are a few steps you can take to ensure your business is protected from a scam:
- Do Not Respond Immediately: Before you verify the notice’s authenticity, avoid contacting or responding to the sender. Answering their email or complying with their demands can encourage further scams.
- Consult with Professionals: If you’re not sure about the legitimacy of a threatening DMCA notice or legal threat, seek advice from legal and cybersecurity experts who can help you identify the sender and advise you on the best course of action.
- Verify the Claimant: Use online resources to check if the claimant and the law firm are registered and legitimate. If, for example, the claimant or law firm is registered, be sure to contact them directly using information you find through your own independent research, not through the email you received.
- Preserve All Communications: The moment you receive a fraudulent email, keep a record of all correspondence related to the notice. These communications can be useful for legal professionals and law enforcement when investigating the scam and help you maintain a record of the threats being posed to your business.
- Report the Scam: If you identify the notice as fraudulent, inform relevant authorities and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) to help prevent further scams.
Proactive Cybersecurity Measures to Protect Against Fake DMCA Notices
Fake DMCA and legal notices are not the only threats businesses face in the evolving digital world. As artificial intelligence and sophisticated cyber criminals continue to enhance their tactics, adopting a proactive cybersecurity strategy is critical to safeguard your business against fraud. Blade Technologies offers a comprehensive suite of cybersecurity solutions that can help you establish a strong defense against cyber threats, ensuring your business is protected against all types of scams.
- Regular Cybersecurity Assessments: Blade Technologies conducts thorough cybersecurity risk assessments that identify vulnerabilities in your network, helping pinpoint weak spots that could be exploited by scammers. Our experts then provide recommendations for fortifying and patching these vulnerabilities, ensuring that your defenses can withstand sophisticated phishing attempts and DMCA scams.
- Advanced Threat Detection and Response: Our real-time monitoring and managed cybersecurity services detect unusual activity and potential threats as they occur, helping catch phishing attempts before they can cause significant harm to your business. Blade Technologies also provides expert data breach remediation that acts swiftly to mitigate the effects of a cyber threat, minimizing downtime and shortening the response process.
- Staff Training and Awareness: Your employees are your first line of defense against email-based threats, which is why we provide education for your team. Our programs include recognizing phishing scams, understanding the signs of fraudulent communications, and best practices for handling potentially malicious emails.
- Enhanced Email Security: Blade Technologies offers sophisticated email filtering solutions that block malicious emails, including those carrying fake legal threats, before they reach your employees. We can also recommend and assist you in setting up encryption protocols for your emails, adding an additional layer of security to your communications to prevent sensitive information from being intercepted by scammers.
Protect Against Fraudulent Emails with Blade Technologies
While a fake DMCA notice demanding a backlink may not have profound effects on your business, the use of AI opens the door to endless possibilities for cyber criminals. Fake legal notices and emails that appear credible may convince businesses to transfer funds, remove content, and more.
By integrating proactive cybersecurity measures and leveraging the expertise of Blade Technologies, your business can significantly enhance its defenses against sophisticated, AI-driven scams. Whether you need a consultant to check the strength of your current defenses or want a partner to help you reinvent your cybersecurity, Blade Technologies can keep your business secure against all types of cyber threats.
For more information on how to protect your business from fake DMCA notices and other cyber threats, contact our experts today. Together, we can create a safer digital future for your business.
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