Nicole Palmer is a lawyer who graduated from Columbia University.
The only problem is that she doesnt exist.
Hopefully, my findings will help others become more aware and protect themselves against similar scams.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
Our client, is happy for their image to be used and shared across the internet.
However, proper image credit is due for past or ongoing usage, she wrote.
Otherwise, we are required to take legal action.
(I intentionally blacked out the clients name and website above for reasons I will explain soon.)
The email ended with references to Section 512(c) of DMCA and a professional signature.
As I had guessed, the image came from Pexels, an online, license-free stock photo library.
I asked for clarification on why she believed the image belonged to her client.
And then I waited.
Ive had previous encounters with companies or individuals who had tried to sneak links into my website.
But doing so with a legal facade was new to me.
I decided to take a closer look at the website of Arthur Davidson Legal Services.
Obviously, whoever had set up the website had done a good job.
90 percent success rate).
But unlike other professional websites, none of the lawyers lists their LinkedIn profile on the website.
A parked domain
A closer investigation revealed many more red flags.
And then I looked up the websites record on the Wayback Machine (archive.org).
Apparently, the domain had been parked between 2005 and 2022.
And then I Googled the firms name and looked up the news section.
The photos of the lawyers seemed a bit out of place.
I opened Nicoles photo in full size on a separate tab.
GANs have come a long way since they were invented in 2014.
Today, they produce higher resolution and more natural images than their earlier versions.
There is a website calledThis Person Does Not Existthat generates GAN faces.
Some of them are eerily convincing.
But GANs still create unnatural artifacts that can be easily detected if youre familiar with the technology.
On April 18, a support agent replied that they had no relationship with the law firm.
Shortly after, the Arthur Davidson website was shut down.
(you’ve got the option to still see a version of it on theWayback Machine.)
Closing thoughtsMy suspicion is that Arthur Davidson was run by a grey hat SEO team.
For now, theyre down.
But Im sure they will crop up under a different name soon.
Looking back, what they did was not very difficult.
in their victims to act without thinking.
I hope these findings will help other website owners avoid falling victim to similar scams.
Do your research, and youll be fine.
A note on anonymity: I have no issue with people wanting to hide their identity online.
There are dozens of legitimate reasons to do sobut scamming other people is not one of them.
As to companies that are considering using the services of such scammers, my advice is: dont.
The next person might not be as forgiving as I was.
In my own experience, there is no shortcut to gaining authority on the internet.
Shady shortcuts might end up doing more damage than good to your website and business.
you might read the original articlehere.
