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Do I or Don't I?

1. Gramps23 March 2010, 13:48 GMT +01:00

Just got this is my email:

"DEAR ARTIST

hi,i am ******** from IRAN
to be honest ...i wanted to know what should i do if iwant to print the images of your gallery

i dont want to for example do something that the owner doesnt know,so i ask for your permission

,so please tell me what shoulld i do ,i am young and i need money to afford my expences...people like digital prints in my country ...but i want to make money in a way that doesnt hurt some one else,,,so if you let me to print your artwork,that would help me so much
regards
**********

Regards"

Hmmm. I know what the rules state. I know I should say no.
Possibilities:

1. I say yes and I'm ripped off as some of my graphics appear on the web in the form of posters/canvas/bookmarks etc.

2. I say no and it happens anyway.

3. I say yes (with restrictions) and someone in need gets to eat.

Comments ??????

2. Abyla23 March 2010, 14:15 GMT +01:00

The same person, the same text. Now I know the answer : My images are for non commercial purposes.

3. mzacha23 March 2010, 14:18 GMT +01:00

I usually say: yes, you can use it, as long as it is not promoting rasism/hate/war ect.

4. weirdvis23 March 2010, 14:30 GMT +01:00

I got one of those too. I usually say yes providing they let me know which images they want to use for specific permission.

5. johnnyberg23 March 2010, 15:08 GMT +01:00

I never grant general permissions. I always want to know what specific pictures we are talking about and the use of each picture.

In most cases I grant permission, if someone wants to print a picture and sell the print.

If people want to sell the picture for print, I always put the restriction "max. 800x600 pixel" on and add that I do not allow redistribution larger than this size.

6. crisderaud23 March 2010, 15:21 GMT +01:00

It's a spam scam. Reply to it and you risk being put on every spam list of the internet.

Do not reply, Just throw it away. If you reply, they then have your e-mail address you registered with at RGB. We protect your e-mail address here if you choose not to reply.

The person that sent this will be dealt with as a spammer and removed then blocked.

This could be a phishing scam where they want your identity and not your pictures. The story is designed to make you want to help the "poor girl".

Notice that IRAN is in all caps. When we trace this thing, I'll bet that country does not register with the sender. Let us take care of her.

7. Gramps23 March 2010, 15:28 GMT +01:00

Nice one Chris, owe you a pint.

8. crisderaud23 March 2010, 15:59 GMT +01:00

I just checked the list of new members and nimo is near the bottom so she just joined then went right to work spamming the galleries. She probably went right down the list.

We'll get her.

9. xymonau23 March 2010, 16:58 GMT +01:00

This is spam. The person works the whole site, and once you grant permission, your image is gone and will be used forever and for profit. Never allow use outside the rules unless they are specific about the project, give you a copy of the finished work or a link to a website, and put boundaries on your permission. When I allow any outside use, I limit it. A maximum of so many prints, or only in ome project, and which image or images specifically, etc. Otherwise, they can pay me. Many people requesting will not give you any information on the use, and they just want you to agree in an email to allow them use of all your images.

I did reply, but I have my real name on here, and I have many email adresses I can use if I need to change. Even though I was sure it was spam, I wanted to say a clear, "No".

10. decar6623 March 2010, 17:01 GMT +01:00

Wow Chris, I think you just hit bullseye

11. crisderaud23 March 2010, 17:54 GMT +01:00

The account has been removed and blocked.

This time 26 people received the letter.

The contact mails were sent through separate computers located in Ireland.

They are working on a design change that can flag these kind of attacks or at least deter them. Be assured that methods for the best strategy are being discussed and planned.

Delete the e-mail if you received one.

12. Zela23 March 2010, 18:23 GMT +01:00

Done, thanks Cris.

13. saavem23 March 2010, 18:43 GMT +01:00

Same person, same text to me, I answered of course NOT!
@11 Thanks Cris by removing such account!

14. Abyla23 March 2010, 19:14 GMT +01:00

Luckily I did not answer "her" yet.
This was the second attack in a month, we must be on the alert. Thanks to Cris and ,of course, thanks to Gramps who opened this topic in the forum.

15. micromoth23 March 2010, 22:05 GMT +01:00

I did answer, but said no she couldn't use my images in this way. Instead, I pointed out that there's loads of copyright-expired ("public domain") images on the web and suggested she check out some of these, using the resources Wikipedia lists as a starting point.

@6 Thanks Cris for pointing out that this is a spam scam - I'll not answer such messages in future! However, as my email is with Hotmail, most spam gets filtered out anyway, so no great harm done.

16. Gramps23 March 2010, 23:45 GMT +01:00

@11 Nice trace program you must be using Chris. Thanks for all the help guys.

17. crisderaud24 March 2010, 4:08 GMT +01:00

To all you guys:

We are doing our best to keep this site clean as possible without disrupting our daily business.

I report the issues directly to the tech team as soon as I am alerted to one. Then I report their response back to you in the forum. This way they can focus on the work while I keep everyone informed.

There is a security enhancement to report that has been put in place already. The site is reconfigured to allow only as many as 5 contacts (messages to other members) every 15 minutes. That works out to 1 every 3 minutes. If you go for number 6 within the 15 minutes the send button says to "Slow Down" and is deactivated on a time delay for the remainder of the 15 minutes.

A flag is triggered in the site log that identifies the persons trying to exceed the limit. This will deter people from joining and sending mass mailings as soon as they get on. It also flags those persons who insist on continuing to exceed the message limit.

This will work for real people now. The site is well defended from bots.

18. johnnyberg24 March 2010, 9:19 GMT +01:00

...... today I got the mail from IRAN ...... it went into the can

19. micromoth24 March 2010, 10:08 GMT +01:00

It seems that nima might be genuine after all. I had the following response to the message I sent to her:

>that was a great tip...i will be using that public images andso my heart would let >me sleep better at nights
>regards

If she was a spammer, she had no need to reply as she had already obtained my email address.

20. xymonau24 March 2010, 10:14 GMT +01:00

She's not a spammer for email addresses. She just want to use everyone's images without paying, and sell them as images for profit. She never replied to me.

21. crisderaud24 March 2010, 10:49 GMT +01:00

Nima is a real person alright. Nima is in Iran, but the communications originated in Ireland from two separate computers. Spam is used to send scams. Money is the objective.

My advice is not to believe these people. They are trained manipulators and good at it. Engaging in communication with them only encourages them to single you out as a good prospect for the next phase of the scam.

I am glad Nima was able to sleep good last night. Hopefully that is the last thing we hear from Nima.

22. Gramps24 March 2010, 11:56 GMT +01:00

It's a sad old world when you can't risk helping someone out in case you get turned over. The 'You've won a million Euros' or ' can you get these millions out of the country for me' scams are easy to spot and trash as they trade on greed. This sort of scam (if it is one) is trading on your good nature and more difficult to judge.

23. crisderaud24 March 2010, 12:28 GMT +01:00

Cyber crime is such a pain in the rump. The crooks are always one step ahead of security.

The days when a man was as good as his word are gone.

24. micromoth24 March 2010, 13:27 GMT +01:00

@20 and @21 I don't disagree with you, but I still think there's at least a part of nima's message that could be genuine. If she wanted to use other people's images for profit, then why would she draw attention to herself by sending all these messages? Wouldn't she just go ahead quietly and hope that no owner of the images picked up on her activities? After all, pursuing a lawsuit in Iran - of all countries - would be pretty tricky.
It's true that the fact the messages originate from Ireland is suspicious, but perhaps this might have more to do with avoiding security surveillance in her own country than anything else.
I guess this is all a bit academic however, as on balance I'm sure Cris's advice and concluding comment are the right way to go. In general, if someone wants to obtain images to sell, my advice to them is to buy a camera.

25. saavem24 March 2010, 18:29 GMT +01:00

I was never replied by Nima!

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