What You Should Do If You Receive Copytrack Emails Demanding Money from You
General Advice
By Rakesh Raman
Introduction
Germany-based outfit Copytrack has been sending threatening emails to people in different parts of the world with the aim to extort money from them. The modus operandi of Copytrack is to act as an extortion agent claiming that it is working on behalf of some hidden clients to protect their content – mainly images – used by other websites.
In its criminal act, Copytrack suddenly starts asking for money under threats from the owners of reusing websites without establishing the fact that the copyrighted material belongs to its so-called clients or if any copyright law has been violated.
As a journalist and social activist, I have been running a worldwide campaign to expose the nefarious designs of Copytrack and to help the Copytrack victims. I have been writing regular editorial reports and informing the international law-enforcement authorities about the cybercrimes that Copytrack is committing in different parts of the world.
I have also formed a “Copytrack Victim Support Group” to receive the complaints of Copytrack victims and help them boldly combat the threats from Copytrack.
What you should do if you receive Copytrack emails
Copytrack threatens to take legal action against those who are accused by it of copyright violations while reusing the images. It asserts that it can file legal cases in Germany or other local courts where the reusers reside.
This is a shallow threat because German courts do not have jurisdiction to prosecute people who live in other countries. And the local courts where the reusers live will have to follow the due legal process before they reach any conclusion.
As it may take years before a case is decided by the court, it is unlikely that Copytrack will file a case in the court because of time and cost factors. However, if Copytrack takes the formal legal route, there is always a possibility that it will lose the court case.
Since almost all Copytrack cases are fake, in all probability the courts will not admit the Copytrack petitions. But if some courts accept some cases filed by Copytrack, they will have to issue notices to the accused for filing their response. Courts are not supposed to take one-sided decisions without giving an opportunity to the accused to respond.
Therefore, people who receive Copytrack email threats need not feel scared. Although a specific response may be required in each individual case, as a general advice, the victims need not reply to the emails that Copytrack sends. Ideally, the victims should respond only if they receive court summons or a court notice.
Meanwhile, I urge all international courts that they should not accept any case filed by Copytrack which is running a criminal enterprise under the garb of copyright laws.
You can click here to read the reports and watch the videos that I have published about Copytrack.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
Contact
Rakesh Raman
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Founder, RMN Foundation [ Website ]
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