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Libellous Material
12 years ago
Unfortunately, the issues in my previous journal about the Malicious Impersonator: (https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/4926474/) have not been resolved, and have been continuing.
Not only are artists receiving emails from a spoofed email address claiming to be me, but now artists are receiving emails from a spoofed email address claiming to be my wife. These emails attack the artist, and make all kinds of false claims.
I've also just been informed that a screenshot of a fake Artist's Beware entry on myself and Noriko is being emailed to people. Checking through Artist's Beware, it doesn't seem to be an actual article that was posted (or it didn't make it past the admins). It is also full of false claims and personal attacks, and seems to be an assault on my and Noriko's reputation, for whatever reason.
The emails and the fake screenshot so far have had very poor grammar - and the email spoofing tracks back to Russia, but it could be originating from anywhere.
Please spread the word, and if you receive any emails or information about this if you could forward it along to myself or my wife (her FA is
ayukawataur) Emails with full headers would be particularly helpful.
Edit - I see some people suggesting violent behavior against the offender. I would like to strongly discourage this concept. I know that most probably suggested it jokingly, but I must state that I condone no actions that would constitute abuse or harrassment to the perpetrators, if they are identified. I only want the issue resolved in a peaceful manner.
As far as legal channels, I have not ruled this out, but it isn't something that should be rushed into, and if multiple countries are involved, it would also severely complicate the issue.
Not only are artists receiving emails from a spoofed email address claiming to be me, but now artists are receiving emails from a spoofed email address claiming to be my wife. These emails attack the artist, and make all kinds of false claims.
I've also just been informed that a screenshot of a fake Artist's Beware entry on myself and Noriko is being emailed to people. Checking through Artist's Beware, it doesn't seem to be an actual article that was posted (or it didn't make it past the admins). It is also full of false claims and personal attacks, and seems to be an assault on my and Noriko's reputation, for whatever reason.
The emails and the fake screenshot so far have had very poor grammar - and the email spoofing tracks back to Russia, but it could be originating from anywhere.
Please spread the word, and if you receive any emails or information about this if you could forward it along to myself or my wife (her FA is
ayukawataur) Emails with full headers would be particularly helpful. Edit - I see some people suggesting violent behavior against the offender. I would like to strongly discourage this concept. I know that most probably suggested it jokingly, but I must state that I condone no actions that would constitute abuse or harrassment to the perpetrators, if they are identified. I only want the issue resolved in a peaceful manner.
As far as legal channels, I have not ruled this out, but it isn't something that should be rushed into, and if multiple countries are involved, it would also severely complicate the issue.
Best wishes from my side! If i ever get anything like the aforementioned mails, ill toss it your way! Hope it helps!
At this point, I would get a lawyer involved ASAP.
I also don't want to escalate the issue beyond what is absolutely necessary. From past experience, I've learned that by involving lawyers and seeking legal protection, I get made out as the enemy/a bully.
Been there, done that in cases like yours.
The question is here if you want to be a victim or defend yourself.
You're going to loose either way in the eyes of various public. Better for being someone who stands up for themself and be condemned for whom you are rather than condemned for who you are not.
Thanks very much =)
I hope that this issue resolves rather fast and if I get such an e-mail I will all forward to you two
Honestly, where do these people come from? I mean really, can't they get a life and move on?
In at least one, there was also a message supposedly from impostor.
Having at best second-hand information, no idea how real those claims were in either case.
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5104594/
I'd say keep documenting it each time you guys discover something. If you do decide that you need to get a lawyer to protect your business image, having lots of evidence on hand that can trace back to the source would help expedite things.
Like China, Russia too, is becoming a safe haven for hackers, thanks to the pro Communist attitude of the Putin Govt. Because you live in the US (if I recall correctly) that makes you even more of a target on general principals.
I'll post a journal too, to help in my own small way. You don't need this. Nobody does.
If you want fast and reliable (as in being able to file charges) results, you'll probably have to shell out some money for a real professional, but hopefully the peace of mind (as well as discouraging other people who may be thinking about doing the same thing) would be worth it.
I went back through our records of rejected posts for the past month, and did not find any about you. If you have a screen-cap of the spoofed post, could you please email it to me at kerstinorion (at) gmail (dot) com?
Interesting that it wasn't even a rejected post. I'd be happy to send you the screen cap. I also included it as well as the spoofed emails in the post, albeit edited to blur out names of other people.
Also, I am reminded of a Lion King quote.
" There's one in every family, sire. Two in mine, actualy. " - Zazu.
Sorry to hear this, hon.
Not a computer genius, so theres not much of a material nature I can do to help.
But I do offer moral support, and the observation that this shit sucks in ways I shall not print here.
-Badger-
I hope you manage to get this sorted out.
It's getting out of hand.
Thank you for the heads up Kacey, and I hope it gets resolved soon.
Sorry you're having to deal with this. :( I hope the issue with this fake is resolved soon!
I can also note you with the contact info on some of the people who have received emails - at least the ones who have reported it to me. I think all of them have FA accounts.
But trying to find them amongst my watchers would be like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles.
If I hear anything, I'll let you know.
I thought you were referring to me.....
*wishes she could do something*
=/
Since then, have any FANS or CLIENTS (writers, publishers, people whom you would normally create illustrations for in the course of business) received these poison e-mails? Or has it been excusively other artists?
How many artists have contacted you about this, either before or after your post here about it?
Can we draw any understanding by looking at who were targetted to receive the poison messages? Such as:
1) Are they primarily people with whom you are acquainted, or have you heard back from artists whom you are not directly acquainted with, but who have some visibility or have devoted followings within the fandom?
2) Do the targetted artists share or compete for the same illustration tasks as you?
What do the recipient artists sharee in common? How were they chosen to recieve these nasty messages?
Looking at who is receiving these e-mails...and perhaps, when...may yield some clues as to motivation, and possibly point to the identity of the source.
Your "Artists Beware" post might shake out more recipients, if there are any; the additional information will help to analyse the picture here.
Of the ones reported to me, 2 artists received spoofed emails claiming to be from me. 2 artists and 1 fan (in the general furry sense, not of mine) received spoofed emails claiming to be from Noriko. and 2 commissioners have received spoofed emails claiming to be from vivisector.org containing the fabricated Artist's Beware post.
Before any of my journals here to FA about this, we received report of 2 emails - one claiming to be from Noriko back in June, and one claiming to be from me in August. After posting the first journal I received more reports, and after posting this journal, again more reports. Someone I don't know also posted a shout on my DA page (which is still there - I could delete it but I just responded to it instead) with a link to the fake A_B post.
Of the artists who received emails - 3 are people who I had never met before, one is a friend (though for some reason people have thought in the past that we had some rivalry, but this was never the case). All of the artists do have a significant online presence and fanbase. The 'fan' is someone Noriko and I have had problems with in the past, but had thought those problems have been resolved for quite some time, so it is quite possible someone wanted to stir up trouble between us again for whatever reason.
The emails claiming to be from me were capitalizing on the 'this is my subject matter/domain' attitude, though the only major similarity I could see is that female pinups were a common topic. I think the person started with the A's and was working down a list, but then people reported them to me too quickly for them to continue that method and they switched techniques.
The technique changed over time - in August 2 artists received spoofed emails from "me", in September 2 artists received spoofed emails from "Noriko", and within the last 24-48 hours 2 commissioners received spoofed emails from "vivisector.org" with the false screencap. The only stand-out from the pack is an email in June that was spoofing Noriko's email address to the above mentioned fan. Also this is only including those that have been directly reported to myself or Noriko. I fully assume more were sent/received that we haven't heard about.
They are watching my behavior and responding to it by changing their technique, that is obvious. Apart from that, I can only speculate on their identity/motivations.
Hopefully soon the person will get bored and get a life or you somehow find a way to stop them.
And while there may be people that would do this out of a grudge, there are also people that would do it completely and willingly at random - or in some cases, serially.
I would suggest reviewing the credentials of your emails to make sure that emails are not getting forwarded to places you don't want them to be, as well as changing your passwords as a general security, just in case this individual has managed to crack your email passwords.
While I do not promote violence, people that make attacks like this that attempt to ruin people do validate SOME arguments of using solutions outside of the law to rectify the situation. Not all of them, which is why I do not promote the use of violence. But it is my experience that these activities often result in the individual eventually messing with the wrong person.
Unfortunately, with the way the law is sat up, people who choose to attempt unlawful solutions often end up the victim of not only the malicious individual, but the law as well (not that I mind a good story where it actually works out). I would encourage you to pursue this individual to the full article of the law - and I have a suspicion that there would be several individuals willing to assist you in such an endeavor. Doing so would not only defend yourself, but help ensure that this person does not have the opportunity to perform these acts in the future against others.
I would also encourage you to go down to your local police station (or call) and ask to talk to someone about what resources they have to pursue and prosecute someone whom has taken the actions of this individual. They should at least be able to tell you who you need to talk to. While you could call a lawyer, finding one that deals in these problems specifically might be rather time consuming, and potentially costly. The police and investigation departments are already funded by tax dollars, and some of their investigative branches would most likely need to get them involved unless you can identify the individual on your own, or have friends in places that can do it for you.
Legally, however, there is an easy chain of procedure that detectives would be able to follow to track down the individual. When the police are involved in criminal cases, especially on this level, they actually may offer to prosecute the case for you (also your tax dollars at work). And since this person is messing with a source of income for you, you may be entitled to some monetary recompense.
I know it seems like a lot of work, even when you know the big picture. But if you can get the police to look at it, you might be surprised on how much of the work they could be willing to do for you. IF you have a department that actually does police work.. instead of the donut eating or speed trap game.
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5106744/
Thats all i can do for you guys but do hope the person commiting these crimes gets caught and put to juctice.
Sorry, but I don't know how to offer you support.
*hugs?*
Anyone who believes them is either being misled or a fool.
And no amount of libel can undo the work you've wrought.
Please have faith; you're stronger than this petty child.
with so many people in this world, the small percentage of those who get off on being really unpleasant is still unfortunately a large number.
Anytime we've talked I've contacted you or your mate directly.
I'm sorry this is happening and if there's anything I can do to help, let me know. I've already forwarded copies to Noriko and Dragoneer for further investigation, and I'm planning to send it to a friend or two who might also know more about email tracing.
Its just a bad situation.
I hope you two manage to track down the asshole who's doing this.
and I also hope the situation gets resolved soon.
On the up-side at least people who have met you or commissioned you at least once or twice should suspect something isn't right about those emails.
I should be surprised, but this being the internet there's bound to be some sad people like this out there that feel this sort of thing is justified for whatever their reasons are...
Hang in there, both of you.
I can have someone look into it for you. Not sure how long it will take though as they are online randomly. But can make them aware of the situation and to look into it.