Looking for advice, having some issues with a "Scam" forum

invisible777

invisible777

New member
Jul 3, 2007
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A couple months ago some douchebag posted a complaint about me/my company on a complaints/scam site about one of my many campaigns I run (mobile pin submit), but also dragged my wife's name into it--and she has nothing to do with internet marketing. She's a doctor and doesn't touch computers.

This idiot posted our full names, hometown, and pictures of us in his rambling complaint. The complaint is pretty ridiculous, asserting shit like we distribute viruses worldwide so that we can "DNS hijack" computers in order to serve ads. In reality, the user is just being served popup/under ads via networks like ValueClick, CPX and TrafficVance that I buy on. Not my fault he downloaded a toolbar.

If you're wondering how he got my whois info, it was a mistake I made 3-4 years ago when I was first starting out. Namecheap used my real info (partially real info) before applying whoisguard. This douchebag bought the whois history and saw the partially real info that was only live for about 6 hours. Either way, it was my oversight.

We've tried the legal route, racked up about $4k in legal fees only to find out the website owner lives in the UK, while his servers are hosted in NY. He could care less. I know I can go after the webhost, but the legal fees could be huge. It's possible my lawyer dropped the ball, not sure. He's a 1-man shop, maybe I need a big firm. If anyone has a recommendation, please PM me.

I honestly don't care that someone posted a complaint about me or my company, any small business is gonna get tarred online sooner or later. What pisses me off is he dragged my wife and a picture of her into the complaint.

My plan B is to try and SEO this website down the SERPs a little when people google our full names. This website, unfortunately, has some decent presence on Google, but making our linkedin, facebook, google+ and the usual profiles public has helped push the site down.

I was wondering if any of you SEO experts had any creative ideas to help with this "Reputation Management"? Someone recommended making a couple hundred bucks worth of donations to various charities so that our names SEO on lots of charity sites? Launch shitty blogspot blogs? Launch domains with our full names in it? I'm not really an SEO guy. The "scam" site appears on page 1 for both of our full names.

If anyone has any tips, or ideas, whether it's the legal route or the SEO route, I'm all ears.

Have a good weekend fella's.
 


search deep pages for high turnover terms: viagra, cialis, etc...

find parasites that stick

build your own optimized around your name

blast the fuck out of them

grab yournames.com, net, org, co, me, and do the same, only add a second tier and take it easier on the blasting, they can't take WWIII.

prweb press release, make it news worthy with a hook.

see if there's any local BNI, Chambers, etc... that offer profile pages with any weight to them. If so, register and link that shit up, tie the pr, personal network domains, and parasites into it.

you could get all fancy and watch guerilla's webinars for some basic newage shit (knowem.com, rel="me", etc..), but this is the base of what's going to clear the first page for your name.


ps- at some point, depending on the scam site, you'll have to pick a macdaddydomain.com as your primary 800lb gorilla to knock it off. If that doesn't make sense, search outranking ripoffreports, amazon, zappos, etc...
 
$4k just to find out where this guy lives? I hope you got more bang for your buck than just that. I'm sure you could have figured that info out on your own in a few minutes. Talk to a lawyer that specializes in internet related cases, Aaron Kelly perhaps.
 
matt3 said:
search deep pages for high turnover terms: viagra, cialis, etc...

find parasites that stick

build your own optimized around your name

blast the fuck out of them

grab yournames.com, net, org, co, me, and do the same, only add a second tier and take it easier on the blasting, they can't take WWIII.

prweb press release, make it news worthy with a hook.

see if there's any local BNI, Chambers, etc... that offer profile pages with any weight to them. If so, register and link that shit up, tie the pr, personal network domains, and parasites into it.

you could get all fancy and watch guerilla's webinars for some basic newage shit (knowem.com, rel="me", etc..), but this is the base of what's going to clear the first page for your name.


ps- at some point, depending on the scam site, you'll have to pick a macdaddydomain.com as your primary 800lb gorilla to knock it off. If that doesn't make sense, search outranking ripoffreports, amazon, zappos, etc...
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Cool tips, thanks.

Fatbat said:
$4k just to find out where this guy lives? I hope you got more bang for your buck than just that. I'm sure you could have figured that info out on your own in a few minutes. Talk to a lawyer that specializes in internet related cases, Aaron Kelly perhaps.
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Yeah... multiple cease and desists, copyright infringment notices (for the photo since it was taken by our digital camera). Shit added up unfortunately. I've seen Aaron Kelly's name a lot, maybe I'll reach out. Thanks.
 
Go to Knowem.com and get there essential package ($69) with your names as the keyword... Create profiles on those domains and send links to them (spend $450 on a bunch of diverse links)... For around $500 bucks you will own the first 2 pages of google

Also, file a DMCA request with the site that is hosting the pics and your wifes name.
 
invisible777 said:
Cool tips, thanks.



Yeah... multiple cease and desists, copyright infringment notices (for the photo since it was taken by our digital camera). Shit added up unfortunately. I've seen Aaron Kelly's name a lot, maybe I'll reach out. Thanks.
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Lol, yeah your lawyer dropped the ball hardcore
 
invisible777 said:
Cool tips, thanks.
Yeah... multiple cease and desists, copyright infringment notices (for the photo since it was taken by our digital camera). Shit added up unfortunately. I've seen Aaron Kelly's name a lot, maybe I'll reach out. Thanks.
Click to expand...


If it is a photo you own, then you should have just filed a DMCA request with the host. Most of the time the material is taken down extremely fast. Not to mention the owner may never respond, which in turn the host will likely suspend the whole account or take it down themselves. Always attempt to go with the host first, at least that is my philosophy about things.
 
aaron-kelly-top-8-guys-american-idol-photos.bmp


is this guy?
 
Go with a lawyer like Aaron Kelly, DMCA does provide safe harbor to "service providers" but there are certain requirements that have to be met in order to get that protection. I'm no lawyer and haven't read the entire DMCA in a few years but i'm 95% sure that one of the first requirements is listing the DMCA agent on the website and registering that agent with the trademark/copyright office. Also if threads/posts are moderated before they are posted that could disqualify them from DMCA protection because it requires automated and "mechanical" means without interruption or altercation from the "service provider". Under that provision you might also argue that placing ads (adsense, infolinks), censoring words, etc could disqualify them.

Again I'm no lawyer but that's why you want somebody like Aaron Kelly who actually understands both broad technology law (in this case the DMCA) and all the tiny variables (forum functionality, monetization, server/content modification, DMCA safe harbor compliance, etc) regarding your case that could possibly swing the law in your favor. If you can pierce that DMCA protection you can start turning up the heat with a more serious lawsuit and at that point most people would be looking to settle the issue out of court.
 
Thanks for the tips guys.

Looks like I have 2 takeaways - make a shitton of social network profiles/register domains and get Aaron Kelly on the phone.
 
I do one of two things. I contact the complainer, get them on the phone and find out what they want money wise to go away. Guarantee it was cheaper then $4k. Or I just ignore them and in 6 months when they aren't getting the attention and they realize they aren't bothering you, I just push them down the SERPs bc they gave up putting effort into it.
 
BilltheButcher said:
I do one of two things. I contact the complainer, get them on the phone and find out what they want money wise to go away. Guarantee it was cheaper then $4k. Or I just ignore them and in 6 months when they aren't getting the attention and they realize they aren't bothering you, I just push them down the SERPs bc they gave up putting effort into it.
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I hear you, but bribing the complainer is an admission of guilt and unfortunately the guy who posted is a forum member with 10k posts and a huge history on that site, so if I approached him with that kind of deal shit would blow up fast.
 
From what I understand the UK has some pretty strict libel / slander laws. If what you said is true (accusations of spreading malware, your wife's involvement that has damaged her reputation thus damaging her practice, etc) I'd contact a UK lawyer if he's in the UK and see if there is anything you can do.
 
Hire a different fucking lawyer, the one you have is worthless. The UK has a bilateral copy wright infringement agreement with the USA. So it doesn't fucking matter if he's in the UK or not.
 
crackp0t said:
From what I understand the UK has some pretty strict libel / slander laws. If what you said is true (accusations of spreading malware, your wife's involvement that has damaged her reputation thus damaging her practice, etc) I'd contact a UK lawyer if he's in the UK and see if there is anything you can do.
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Yeah, they are fairly strict, if you don't mind a year of legal battle and mid 5 figures of expenses. (or more, depending on the case) Libel is the one law you NEVER want to sue for over here, unless:
A. You're very very wealthy, and they're really really pissing you off.
B. They're putting up billboards saying you're a child molester.
 
crackp0t said:
I'd contact a UK lawyer if he's in the UK and see if there is anything you can do.
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This. Going the libel action route is only for those with extremely deep pockets, however a threatening C&D letter from a local lawyer will carry a LOT more weight than one sent over from the US.

He probably just read your lawyer's C&D letter out loud in a ridiculous exaggerated American accent, laughed, and threw it away. Depending on where you live he'll have chosen either a "Noo Yawk" accent, a deep south redneck accent, or a Californian valley girl voice. If the letter was particularly threatening he might have done an impression of Clint Eastwood.

Someone threatening him from thousands of miles away will just make him feel all the more untouchable.

If it was me, I'd try and find a law firm with offices both in your city and in London.

If you want, as a favour you can email me a threatening letter on some fake lawyer headed paper and I'll post it to him from Central London.
 
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