New Phishing Scam Targets the Ridgewood blog

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, in recent days the Ridgewood blog has been the target of “new” phishing scam . Phishing is the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by disguising oneself as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. This new one claims the Ridgewood blog is claiming we are using copyrighted images .

You have no any rights to use my images for [domen] without my permission! You must delete my images immediately!

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Hello,

This is Melissa and I am a qualified photographer and illustrator.

I was puzzled, to put it nicely, when I came across my images at your website. If you use a copyrighted image without my approval, you must be aware that you could be sued by the owner.

It’s illegal to use stolen images and it’s so filthy!

Check out this document with the links to my images you used at lergp.com and my earlier publications to get evidence of my copyrights.

Download it now and check this out for yourself:

[redacted Google site URL]
If you don’t remove the images mentioned in the document above within the next few days, I’ll write a complaint on you to your hosting provider stating that my copyrights have been infringed and I am trying to protect my intellectual property.

And if it doesn’t work, you may be pretty damn sure I am going to report and sue you! And I will not bother myself to let you know of it in advance.

From the FTC website :

How to Recognize Phishing

Scammers use email or text messages to trick you into giving them your personal information. They may try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could gain access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that people lost $57 million to phishing schemes in one year.

Scammers often update their tactics, but there are some signs that will help you recognize a phishing email or text message.

Phishing emails and text messages may look like they’re from a company you know or trust. They may look like they’re from a bank, a credit card company, a social networking site, an online payment website or app, or an online store.

Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. They may

say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts
claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information
say you must confirm some personal information
include a fake invoice
want you to click on a link to make a payment
say you’re eligible to register for a government refund
offer a coupon for free stuff

Here’s a real world example of a phishing email.

Imagine you saw this in your inbox. Do you see any signs that it’s a scam? Let’s take a look.

The email looks like it’s from a company you may know and trust: Netflix. It even uses a Netflix logo and header.
The email says your account is on hold because of a billing problem.
The email has a generic greeting, “Hi Dear.” If you have an account with the business, it probably wouldn’t use a generic greeting like this.
The email invites you to click on a link to update your payment details.

While, at a glance, this email might look real, it’s not. The scammers who send emails like this one do not have anything to do with the companies they pretend to be. Phishing emails can have real consequences for people who give scammers their information. And they can harm the reputation of the companies they’re spoofing.

How to Protect Yourself From Phishing Attacks

Your email spam filters may keep many phishing emails out of your inbox. But scammers are always trying to outsmart spam filters, so it’s a good idea to add extra layers of protection. Here are four steps you can take today to protect yourself from phishing attacks.