If the internet scammers are now pretending to be the RIAA, what’s next? I saw a message in my spam folder and decided to check it out for the heck of it. It was obviously a phishing scam, since the attachment was a ZIP file, and not even a PDF of DOC file.
Since I do so much work in the music industry and have even been awarded an RIAA-certified Gold Record for my album photography, it is possible that someone with the RIAA might want to contact me. To taylor this scam even more, these thieves could pretend to be from a trusted photography organization. Who knows what they’ll try next?
Here is a copy of the text from the bogus email:
Dear XXX, hereby we notify you that your IP address has been identified as distributing copyrighted content. Please see the attachment to this message for illicit Internet traffic details.
Failure to respond to this message within 14 days will result in copyright infringement accusation and standard legal procedures.
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)…………………
tel: 202-775-0101 fax: 202-775-7255
Yep, I got this today too in my spam. Got directed here by google searching the message. I'm also a recording artist, so I had to laugh when I got that mail.
I just receied one. They make it an obvious scam when the "To" email address isn't even mine.
same here….from CAELIE COCHRAN @ RIAA.COM.
Hope people who received the same letter find this post relatively quickly, as it may seem convincing at first.
PATHETIC – let me guess, if you respond, they'll ask you to pay up to avoid a lawsuit. MOFOS.
Hey, quick question, did you open the Zip? is it a virus?
I received two of these in the last 30 minutes, not to my spam folder but to my private email. And it shows as being sent to numerous emails. This is just sick.
No, I did NOT open the ZIP file. That would be a BAD idea!