There are a lot of scams out there, but one that’s been plaguing bloggers like me lately is a novel twist: A fake DMCA takedown notice that’s actually a link insertion scam! Beware: The notices I’m getting are very convincing-looking, complete with a fake law firm website!
Copyright Infringement and Link Insertion
As publisher of Gestalt IT, Grail Watch, and this blog, I’ve received quite a few copyright infringement notices over the years. Although some were mistakes or misunderstandings, most are a scam of some sort. The most common are “shakedowns” for cash, but the link insertion scam seems to be on the rise.
As a content creator, I’ve always been careful to carefully check rights on images I use and use proper attribution. I’ve been on the wrong side of these issues, with large sites using my photos without permission or credit, so I encourage my staff to go the extra mile and verify all content on my sites. That’s why it’s so galling to get an email suggesting that I have improperly used someone else’s work!
Link insertion is a long-standing “black hat” practice which seeks to manipulate search results by adding links to a low-quality site from higher-quality domains. That’s why editors of long-running and high-quality blogs like me are bombarded by offers for guest blog posts, pseudo affiliate programs, and outright paid link insertion. I literally get 5-10 such offers every day across my various properties, and I imagine the problem is much worse for larger sites. Be warned that these scams can cause catastrophic damage to your site’s hard-earned search engine ranking if you accept them!
Anatomy of a Fake DMCA Notice
Now let’s take a look at a recent scam that combines these two categories: A fake DMCA notice that’s actually a link insertion scam!
I received the following email on January 23, 2022. It was sent to the former editor of Gestalt IT, so the email ended up in my inbox. This is not unusual: Scammers usually send to every email at the domain, so I often get multiple copies of such emails.
Let’s take a walk through the email and spot all the warning signs of a scam:
- Most obviously, the request for a link rather than a monetary payment is a blatant sign that this isn’t a real copyright
