Many customers and companies worldwide have recently received notices through contact forms or email accounts accusing them of photography copyright violations.
These fake notices will usually include a link to an attachment that the sender wants you to click. It is critical that you DO NOT click the link as these links are often used to spread ransomware and are likely to infect your computer.
You can see an example of one of these notices in the below screenshot.
These emails can sound scary, and the goal is to prompt the receiver to be alarmed so that they click on the link.
In general, you should never click on links sent by unknown senders as they may contain malicious files. Clicking the link will download a file containing code that may infect the computer with ransomware.
At Dentalfone, we take copyright very seriously. We are careful to use images licensed from our stock photography company or unique pictures that a photographer has taken in your practice.
If you think you have received a valid notice of copyright infringement, you should forward a screenshot of the message to your IT or Website company for them to review. Still, if it looks similar to the above, it’s fraudulent, and the best course of action is to delete the message.
If you have received one of these messages and clicked on the link, you should reach out to your IT company immediately, so they can do an audit to check your computer systems and work on cleaning up any infections if present. This is also an excellent reminder to make sure your practice has a stringent data backup process, with regular rotations of backups, including off-line backups stored off-site.
As hackers become more sophisticated, it is more important than ever to be vigilant when reviewing emails, being careful not to click on links that may create security issues or negatively impact your business.