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286
 
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My friends (who run a cafe with a wireless network and public access computer) have been sent a very official sounding letter demanding payment of £600 to avoid court regarding the participation in the distribution of copy-written material.
I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience of this type of demand and whether it can be safely ignored until it turns into a summons?
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486
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I would be very careful and check it out.
The sum involved actually sounds a little low, it could be a scam.
There are lots of unscrupulous people out there trying to take money for worthless guarantees.
My company received a letter requesting £250 for "data protection act registration"- it was a fraud.
Likewise there are people who request fees for "telephone selection registration" or "fax selection registration"- another fraud.
this link mentions a similar letter
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Pentium
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Contact Atari directly (look up phone numbers yourself, don't use whats on the letter) and tell them you think you might have recieved a fraudulent letter on this matter.
That is if they are innocent (No offense to them, if it was a paying customer that did that then they may want to look into blocking certain internet traffic types).
Disclaimer: Any advice I provide is only applicable in my reality and may need altering to fit yours There is no place like 127.0.0.1
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286
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I'm pretty sure it's not an illegal scam - although it did cross my mind what a scam like this could be worth if it were easy enough to retrieve a name & address from an IP through the ISP.
Currently reading this thread - http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=154167
There does seem to be quite a bit of info on this out there. I think the first letter must have been sent 18 months ago.
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486
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There is certainly a lot about this on the net.
General response is that it is a legally dubious operation, under no circumstances pay up, write back and demand legal proof (an IP address is not legal proof).
Also phone your ISP or the Citizens advice bureau.
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286
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Yeah, it would make sense to visit the CAB.
Part of me would like to see what happens when a 40 yr old woman is accused of d/l a racing sim  - but they probably have enough on their plate as it is.
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Santa Pig
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Did a Google on Davenport Lyons - look here on the Consumer Action Group site http://tinyurl.com/6rpfjm
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286
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DaveHand (09/08/2008)
My friends (who run a cafe with a wireless network and public access computer) have been sent a very official sounding letter demanding payment of £600 to avoid court regarding the participation in the distribution of copy-written material.
I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience of this type of demand and whether it can be safely ignored until it turns into a summons?
Do not throw away or ignore the letter.
Do not rely on accurate expert advice from anonymous posting boards.
Book an appointment to see an appropriate person at your local CAB, ASAP.
By all means look around on the net to see exactly what others are saying about these letters.
You friends are certainly not alone. Looking through the links already provided is proof enough.
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486
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Grenville is right, Do not take advice from here (apart from the advice to get proper advice of course) ;D
Seems that anyone who has used Limewire or similar P2P apps is a target.
Or some who have not - apparently, many of the people who have received this letter have no filesharing history whatsoever.
In addition, the only 3 cases on record as won were because nobody turned up.
There are suggestions that the defendants in question were dead or had moved house, making those cases look like an attempt to "legitimise" the action.
It looks like a Quasi legal "phishing " operation, trying to scare people in to paying up to avoid court action, without any real evidence.
Apparently in the past, a Laser printer was accused of downloading Indy 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jul/01/internet.copyright
EDIT: Of course, none of my Laser Printers have such poor taste
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