Totally Ripped Off

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  1. copywriter31 profile image77
    copywriter31posted 10 years ago

    Freelance Global Media . . .

    http://s1.hubimg.com/u/8202012_f248.jpg
    stole one of my hubs,
    http://copywriter31.hubpages.com/hub/Ho … act-Women.

    This group of thieves was very blatant, using my hub, word for word, posting ALL of my work on their blog site.
    http://www.freelanceglobalmedia.com/thi … act-women/ 

    I received NO credit, nor a link back to my hub page. The ONLY wording changed was the headline. From my headline of "Top 6 Traits Women Find Attractive In Men" to their rewording - "This Is How We Men Attract Women."

    WHAT LEGAL ACTION CAN AND SHOULD I PURSUE?

    1. imonline1 profile image70
      imonline1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Unbelievable.. the things people will do. I'm glad you were able to catch these thieves. Not only are they guilty of thievery, but plagiary too. The nerve!

    2. Marisa Wright profile image87
      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      First of all, don't give them free publicity. It's probably too late to edit your post now - but in future, if you're going to complain about a site, don't give them a hyperlink.  Everyone who clicks on that link and goes to view the page gives them more traffic, and that's the last thing you want.

      Taking your complaint public is unlikely to achieve much.  Emailing them is unlikely to achieve much.

      As others have said, you need to report them to their hosting company, and also report them to whoever is supplying their advertising (unfortunately in this case, I can't work it out).

      1. copywriter31 profile image77
        copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

        Good advice, Marisa. I was boiling upset when I first saw it, and I fired off a hasty report to HubPages' forum. The thought of free publicity never entered my mind at that point.

    3. sunilkunnoth2012 profile image61
      sunilkunnoth2012posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It is a painful experience.  But what is fine here you could catch the thief and damage him before the public. That is a great thing, which many of us can't even think of.  Keep on the fishing and catch more thieves and tarnish their image before the world,

    4. Christy Kirwan profile image91
      Christy Kirwanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hi copywriter31,

      It's always a good idea to file a DMCA complaint if you find your work has been stolen or reproduced without your permission.

      1. copywriter31 profile image77
        copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

        Thanks, Christy . . . I am planning on doing just that!

    5. The Examiner-1 profile image59
      The Examiner-1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      If they have done this to one person, they have probably done it to others. Perhaps if you go to the BBB but they say that they cannot do anything, they might be able to refer you to who can. I am not sure if it will work but give it a try.

      1. copywriter31 profile image77
        copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

        Good idea, The Examiner. This site is based in Nigeria and they have now removed the page. I'm not sure if anything can be done considering their location and the fact they have removed the stolen material.

  2. FatFreddysCat profile image93
    FatFreddysCatposted 10 years ago

    Ugh!! I feel your pain. It sucks when someone rips off your chizz.

    "Freelance Global Media is a media company based in Abuja, Nigeria."

    ...Since they're in Nigeria, there may not be much you can do legally (aside from sending out the usual DMCA complaints to the site's hosting operators, which may or may not get results)... they're probably the same kind of a**holes who send out SPAM claiming to be from Nigerian bankers who want to transfer millions of dollars to the U.S.

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your comment, Fat Freddy . . . the thought of using another writer's work for personal gain is one thing - Calling that work original content is quite another!

  3. jericho911 profile image84
    jericho911posted 10 years ago

    I tried to leave a nasty comment but it has to pass the moderation filter.  What crap. I'm sorry that this happens so often.

    1. sunilkunnoth2012 profile image61
      sunilkunnoth2012posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      In a similar case I too have done  the same thing.  It will really work we all pour the thief with sharp comments.  Let the moderator too understand the gravity of the crime!

      1. copywriter31 profile image77
        copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

        In my 'copywriter's book' what this site did IS a crime. It's copyright infringement at the highest level.

  4. mathom profile image78
    mathomposted 10 years ago

    Here's a handy resource: Plagiarism Today's guide to reporting theft. It includes form letters for a cease & desist letter and walks you through the steps you can take to get stolen content taken down.

    This webhost lookup shows that your thieves' domain, freelanceglobalmedia.com, is hosted by iweb.com.

    This is good news, because webhosts will often respond to a takedown notice. Go to iWeb.com and try out their live chat asking what steps to take next, explaining that you've had your content stolen and reposted by someone who's hosting a website through their service.

    (Or go to the "Contact" section of iWeb's website and try the "report abuse" button).

    Another thing you can do is report the copyright theft to Google and get the page pulled from Google search results.  here's the form; click "Web search."

    I can't figure out which advertising agency the site's using for its banner ads, but another option is to hit it in the pocketbook. If it's Google Adsense, they'll revoke the plagiarizer's Adsense account permanently, a good deterrent to future plagiarism. (Amazon is good about this too, provided, of course, that you can prove the plagiarizer is stealing other people's content).

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      GREAT information mathom! I will use these resources to first, hopefully stop this site dead in their tracks, and secondly, punish them for hijacking my and other HubPage writers' original content.

  5. TheKatsMeow profile image88
    TheKatsMeowposted 10 years ago

    Ah I know what that's like sad This might be a silly suggestion, but I would first try emailing them, letting them know that you own the work and that you want them to take down their copy of it. This is definitely a site to look out for; they probably have more stolen content.

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Not silly, TheKatsMeow. Emailing these (this) scumbags was my first inclination.

  6. Marcy Goodfleisch profile image83
    Marcy Goodfleischposted 10 years ago

    Thanks for posting this - I found at least one of mine on the site & sent and email & reported it.  Sigh.  This is the same article that's been ripped off repeatedly, so I know traffic will tank now (again).  And I just plain don't have the time to mess with it.  I did send them an email - but in Nigeria, they're probably laughing themselves silly.

  7. Marcy Goodfleisch profile image83
    Marcy Goodfleischposted 10 years ago

    BTW - the site is filled with well-written content.  I am certain many are from HP.  Please keep this thread going.  Might be good to repost it with a huge subject line about a site scraping content, so others notice it.   Again - thank you for letting us know!

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      You are very welcome, Marcy. Sites like this one need to be exposed for the unscrupulous thieves they are. I like your idea on the repost.

  8. neilcook profile image68
    neilcookposted 10 years ago

    OMG! I can't believe someone would copy another's content WORD FOR WORD! I mean, you could at least try and change it. That's terrible and stupid on part of the thieves.

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yep - It is stupid and unbelievable they got away with it (for now.)

  9. jaydawg808 profile image80
    jaydawg808posted 10 years ago

    This exact same thing happened to me.  This person was using a Tumblr account, so what I did first was email the owner of the page threatening to take action against his plagiarized page.  He quickly tried to deny and work out a deal, etc.  I said no, that I'm going to take action with Tumblr.  He removed the content shortly thereafter.

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Excellent answer, jaydawg. Before this craziness, I never had a need to access Tumblr . . . I will look into this method of action, as well as the other great suggestions I am receiving. Thanks for your comment.

  10. Greekgeek profile image78
    Greekgeekposted 10 years ago

    Forget emailing the blog owner.

    Go to the domain host to get the site taken down, like the tutorial posted above suggested.

    The more people who follow the steps above, the more likely the site will get taken down.

    Also, if Google receives many confirmed DMCA notices about a site stealing content, it will severely penalize it in search results. So take the time to do that, too.

    1. Marcy Goodfleisch profile image83
      Marcy Goodfleischposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I agree - when I said I reported it, I mean to Google.  If the site is in Nigeria, I am not sure what they can do, but they can at least downgrade the search ranking of the site.  As with the OP, they copied images & everything, and then changed the title of the article.

    2. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Will do, Greekgeek . . . Thank you!

  11. My Cute Baker profile image61
    My Cute Bakerposted 10 years ago

    Taking your complaint public could help.
    They do have a facebook page you could post the question re your article copied on their site and not providing the correct author details. A good public shaming can lose them some followers, their audience and that will lose them money.

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Another great idea, My Cute Baker! Thanks for your comment.

  12. Cheeky Girl profile image68
    Cheeky Girlposted 10 years ago

    I just saw this. I wonder is there ever any end to this copyright mess...

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I hope so, Ckeeky . . . but I think it's wishful thinking.

  13. Writer Fox profile image31
    Writer Foxposted 10 years ago

    That website is hosted in Canada and it shouldn't be a problem at all to have it removed.  Here's where you send the DMCA request:

    http://kb.iweb.com/entries/21689322-Sub … n-iWeb-com

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks much for the info, Writer Fox. You better believe I am going to use your information, along with the excellent information received from many HubPages writers to see this site is hopefully, severely punished.

  14. Astra Nomik profile image64
    Astra Nomikposted 10 years ago

    Oh wow... I just saw this website. I also caught this few comments as well...

    Borf Anderson
    Jul 16, 2013 @ 06:46:32

    Hello, I read this content originally in Hub Pages. So why have you completely stolen it and pasted it in this page of your website? I see you also have many advertisements on this page. I will take note of them and contact them about this infringement of copyright that they are helping to pay for.

    Have a nice day!
       
    More...
    Borf Anderson
    Jul 16, 2013 @ 06:56:59

    Your comment is awaiting moderation.

    Thank you iWeb.com for hosting this stolen content. IWeb the Host of this website with copied content is helping this stolen copyright infringement. We reported you to your advertisers. Google have been told about this copyright infringement on this website. The advertisers of this and other websites that you host have been now notified.

    Warm regards,
    Borf Anderson

    So who the hell is Borf Anderson? LOL ... tongue

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for the info-filled comment, Astra. Very helpful as I attempt to close the lid on this dishonest operation - Nigeria or Niagra; location should be irrelevant in a case like this one.

  15. Astra Nomik profile image64
    Astra Nomikposted 10 years ago

    I mean ... he sounds Swedish.... big_smile

  16. FatFreddysCat profile image93
    FatFreddysCatposted 10 years ago

    I don't know, but I like his style!! big_smile

  17. wilderness profile image95
    wildernessposted 10 years ago

    Sounds like yet another wholesale thief, scraping dozens or hundreds of articles to put on their site.

    While it is useful to contact the site owner for a copied article or two, in this case the best thing you can do is contact the host, getting the entire site shut down.  Other options are to contact google, who will remove it from the search engine, but that still leaves it on Bing, Yahoo and all other engines (the thief may lose any adsense affiliation, though).  Or you can contact the advertisers, hoping to get their affiliation yanked - this can be effective if they have monetized through affiliation.  The last big thief to hit got shut down by hubbers, came back on a scam host and only disappeared after an email to swedish net authorities (where the host was located) asking for help.  He also appeared to have lost his Amazon and, I think, his adsense during the process.  It takes time and effort but is worth it; both times the guy grabbed around 100 of my hubs and both times traffic fell considerably until he was gone.

    With a big time thief, the goal needs to be not only to get your article taken down, but the thief shut down as much as possible.  Get their monetization killed, get google to hate them, get the host to drop their site completely.  They will probably come right back on another host, but keep hurting them and they'll eventually quit, or at least quit grabbing HP stuff.

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      VERY good advice, wilderness! I will contact Google, tell them what happened, and wait for a possible investigation.

      1. Susana S profile image91
        Susana Sposted 10 years agoin reply to this

        You need to do it in the correct way ie: by using a DMCA takedown notice.

        More info here: http://hubpages.com/learningcenter/how- … -complaint

  18. Organised Kaos profile image88
    Organised Kaosposted 10 years ago

    Damn! So not fair.

    Sorry you've got to deal with this crap situation.

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, Organised Kaos.

  19. Healthyannie profile image87
    Healthyannieposted 10 years ago

    I have just had a look at that website, and it reads like a Hubpages 101.
    I am pretty sure a lot of those articles have come from Hubpages, and I recognize quite a few.
    It is disgusting!!!!! It would be interesting to do an exercise to see if there a common link i.e. identify a certain follower with links to this website. I recognize one article in particular - Careers for Shy people. I am sure that article is from a hard working Hubber .

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I would imagine you are correct, Healthyannie. If they are brazen enough to copy EVERY word my particular hub contains, why stop there?

  20. Healthyannie profile image87
    Healthyannieposted 10 years ago

    Hurray for Borf  by the way. He is the hero of the day! Although I never heard the name Borf used in Sweden, but here it goes. Bravo Borf  Anderson - tusen tack . . .

    1. toptengamer profile image87
      toptengamerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      You need to get that backlink of their site off as soon as possible smile

  21. Good Guy profile image83
    Good Guyposted 10 years ago

    Good news!!  I just went to the link and it was "404 Page not found."

    1. Healthyannie profile image87
      Healthyannieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      There must be a common denominator here. I have looked through the site, and there is a lot of stuff from Hubpages there. Does anybody have a follower, or followers, from Nigeria. Copywriter31- check your followers.
      I know it is horrible but it could be true.

    2. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Good Guy! That is GREAT News! Maybe these thieves got the message through the grapevine. ...

  22. Bill Yovino profile image88
    Bill Yovinoposted 10 years ago

    It's easy to get Nigerian websites to take down stolen content.  They just want a bit of information like your name, address, social security number, date of birth, mother's maiden name, all of your credit card numbers, expiration dates, and security codes. Oh yes, your checking account number and pin too.  That should do it.

  23. T. R. Brown profile image59
    T. R. Brownposted 10 years ago

    You just need to send them a take down notice under the DMCA.  You need to do it in writing.  Even if you didnt register you work with the U.S. Copyright Office, you still have copyright protection for your original work.  The take down notice should do the trick.

  24. PoeticPhilosophy profile image77
    PoeticPhilosophyposted 10 years ago

    Glad the community's so positive and helping with advice. My question is how did you find them?

    1. copywriter31 profile image77
      copywriter31posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I can't answer that question, Poetic - But I am VERY grateful to ALL who have contributed!

  25. Tom London profile image41
    Tom Londonposted 10 years ago

    Don't worry. HubPages will sort it out, if they are any responsible.

    All they need to do is for their legal team to send them an email, and that will usually scare them off.

    1. wilderness profile image95
      wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      No, HP will NOT "sort it out".  HP has neither responsibility nor authority to act in our stead in claiming rights to your hubs.  They can do virtually nothing.

  26. Barbara Kay profile image73
    Barbara Kayposted 10 years ago

    I think everyone on Hubpages should be sure they didn't copy their hubs. This site has added 30 pages of articles since March 2013. There are multiple articles on each page. Some of the articles sound familiar and I may have read them on Hubpages.

  27. Astra Nomik profile image64
    Astra Nomikposted 10 years ago

    I thought I would share this post from the Guardian Newspaper. it's about websites and stolen content.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/20 … ed-content

    "...Websites offering pirated content will be blocked from offering adverts from Google and other big web advertisers, in a US scheme intended to strangle illicit revenues.

    The initiative will mean copyright holders from the music, film and other creative industries will be able to alert the big ad networks if their ads are appearing on sites offering links to pirated content or counterfeit goods...."

 
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