How To Spot An Illegal Script Or Forgery On EBAY
Most dealers advertisting "COPIES" or "REPRINTS" are selling bootleg illegal copies of copyrighted items. Be careful of this scam because many are also associated with illegal forgeries!
How to spot a forgery on Ebay and frequently asked questions on what to do if you have been the victim of a forgery scam.
The police, FBI and Professional Autographed Dealers Association estimates
that 90-98% of the A-list Hollywood Celebrity autographs on Ebay are forgeries or are in some way counterfeit. There is now a firestorm of 20,000-30,000 forgeries, counterfeits and illegal copyrighted items being sold every few weeks. It has become a multimillion dollar business.
Beware of Ebay Dealers with a GOOD feedback rating. That’s right a GOOD feedback rating! The FBI warns that most forgery dealers have good feedback ratings often in the thousands. Just because a dealer shows a good feedback rating does NOT mean the item is authentic, all it means is the dealer has sent out an item in a timely manner. Forgers are very manipulative and will use good “customer service” to mask the fact they are selling forgeries.
Beware of Dealers with a lot of inventory. Celebrities sign a very limited number of items every year. Dealers who claim to have dozens or even hundreds of items from the same celebrity or film production are most likely selling forgeries.
Beware of dealers selling items like scripts or photos that are REPRINTS or COPIES. First, many of theses items are copies of forgeries and Second, most of the items are ILLEGAL copies of copyrighted motion picture and television photos and scripts. If you buy one of these item it is just like buying a bootleg copy of a movie, it’s illegal and you could be held liable so stay away from these dealers. If you want to buy an authorized script copy contact the studio to purchase an authentic copy (not an illegal one).
Watch out for "Listing Tricks": Watch out for listing tricks that sellers use to get out of legal responsibility for selling you a forgery. If an item says “Autographed Photo of Angelina Jolie” They are not claiming the item is SIGNED BY Angelina, they are only claiming that somebody signed it.
Watch out for fuzzy photos and unclear signatures: There are problems with both clear and fuzzy photos. A clever forger may show a picture of an authentic autograph and sell you a false one. Other dealers buy directly from forgers who come close enough to the real signature that they proudly display the forgery with a crystal clear photo. But a dealer who won’t even show a clear photo or clear signature is definitely suspect and probably avoided.
Watch out for Trick Certificates of Authenticity: COA’s can be printed on any paper by anyone unless the COA specifically holds legal claims that the item is real and the person takes legal responsibility. If it is otherwise the COA is just a trick and false sense of security. Insist that a COA has a live signature and the person claiming legal responsibility’s name is printed clearly under the signature. Make sure the COA states that the item is a legal original autograph signed BY the celebrity in question and that further the photo and or script the signature is printed on is authorized by copyright and trademark laws and by the owner of the trademark.
Don’t buy from dealers who will NOT allow you to authenticate the item before you send the money: Make sure the seller has a notice in their listing that allows winning bidders to authenticate the item before the buyer send payment. A seller who does not offer this service is probably trying to trick you into buying the item. A money back guarantee is not enough because a forger will make off with your money.
Google Ebay Seller forgery lists: Consumer Advocates have set up lists of Ebay sellers who are thought to be selling forgeries. Check out the lists and make sure you aren’t buying from one. X-LIST ect..
WHAT TO DO IF YOU PURCHASED A FORGERY OR ILLEGAL COPYRIGHTED ITEM?
1) Immediately contact the police and file a report. Your local police department is required to take the report and they will be forwarded to the district of the seller. DO NOT let the police department tell you only to report it to EBay because Ebay does not have the authority to press criminal charges. If criminal charges are brought the seller may be required to pay restitution and refund all the victims money. A criminal court order can NOT be bankrupted so it is a legal judgment that the convicted criminal is required to pay.
2) After filing a police report then report the incident to Ebay’s Fraud Department and submit the police report number.
3) Leave negative feedback on the seller to warn other buyers.
4) Contact the studio and celebrity and provide the police report number.
5) Contact Paypal or your Credit Card and initiate a dispute to get your money back.
Finally, in your letters to the studios and celebrities formally request that they implement a forgery prevention program. The FBI has suggested a forgery prevention program to the studios and celebrities using a tamperproof holographic label and it will virtually SHUT DOWN forgeries and illegal copies. It only costs a few pennies but the studios and celebrities are waiting for the public to show interest in forgery prevention so your voice definitely makes a difference.
To contact the celebrities regarding forgeries address to:
Screen Actors Guild
Forgery Prevention
Alan Rosenberg; President
5757 Wilshire Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90036-3600
FAX NUMBER: (323) 549-6677
FBI Contact Information:
Forgery Program is called Operation Bullpen
san.diego Telephone: (858) 565-1255
Saturday, September 23, 2006
INTERESTING WEB SITES
Investigators Guide To Sources Of Information
http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/soi.htm
Investigators Guide To Sources Of Information
http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/soi.htm
Fish used to detect terror attacks
By MARCUS WOHLSEN Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO- A type of fish so common that practically every American kid who ever dropped a fishing line and a bobber into a pond has probably caught one is being enlisted in the fight against terrorism. San Francisco, New York, Washington and other big cities are using bluegills — also known as sunfish or bream — as a sort of canary in a coal mine to safeguard their drinking water.
Small numbers of the fish are kept in tanks constantly replenished with water from the municipal supply, and sensors in each tank work around the clock to register changes in the breathing, heartbeat and swimming patterns of the bluegills that occur in the presence of toxins.
"Nature's given us pretty much the most powerful and reliable early warning center out there," said Bill Lawler, co-founder of Intelligent Automation Corporation, a Southern California company that makes and sells the bluegill monitoring system. "There's no known manmade sensor that can do the same job as the bluegill."
Since Sept. 11, the government has taken very seriously the threat of attacks on the U.S. water supply. Federal law requires nearly all community water systems to assess their vulnerability to terrorism.
Big cities employ a range of safeguards against chemical and biological agents, constantly monitoring, testing and treating the water. But electronic protection systems can trace only the toxins they are programmed to detect, Lawler said.
Bluegills — a hardy species about the size of a human hand — are considered more versatile. They are highly attuned to chemical disturbances in their environment, and when exposed to toxins, they experience the fish version of coughing, flexing their gills to expel unwanted particles.
The computerized system in use in San Francisco and elsewhere is designed to detect even slight changes in the bluegills' vital signs and send an e-mail alert when something is wrong.
San Francisco's bluegills went to work about a month ago, guarding the drinking water of more than 1 million people from substances such as cyanide, diesel fuel, mercury and pesticides. Eight bluegills swim in a tank deep in the basement of a water treatment plant south of the city.
"It gave us the best of both worlds, which is basically all the benefits that come from nature and the best of high-tech," said Susan Leal, general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
New York City has been testing its system since 2002 and is seeking to expand it. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection reported at least one instance in which the system caught a toxin before it made it into the water supply: The fish noticed a diesel spill two hours earlier than any of the agency's other detection devices.
They do have limitations. While the bluegills have successfully detected at least 30 toxic chemicals, they cannot reliably detect germs. And they are no use against other sorts of attacks — say, the bombing of a water main, or an attack by computer hackers on the systems that control the flow of water.
Still, Lawler said more than a dozen other cities have ordered the anti-terror apparatus, called the Intelligent Aquatic BioMonitoring System, which was originally developed for the Army and starts at around $45,000.
San Francisco plans to install two more bluegill tanks.
"It provides us an added level of detection of the unknown," said Tony Winnicker, a spokesman for the city's Public Utilities Commission. "There's no computer that's as sophisticated as a living being."
Reprinted from Policeone.com
By MARCUS WOHLSEN Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO- A type of fish so common that practically every American kid who ever dropped a fishing line and a bobber into a pond has probably caught one is being enlisted in the fight against terrorism. San Francisco, New York, Washington and other big cities are using bluegills — also known as sunfish or bream — as a sort of canary in a coal mine to safeguard their drinking water.
Small numbers of the fish are kept in tanks constantly replenished with water from the municipal supply, and sensors in each tank work around the clock to register changes in the breathing, heartbeat and swimming patterns of the bluegills that occur in the presence of toxins.
"Nature's given us pretty much the most powerful and reliable early warning center out there," said Bill Lawler, co-founder of Intelligent Automation Corporation, a Southern California company that makes and sells the bluegill monitoring system. "There's no known manmade sensor that can do the same job as the bluegill."
Since Sept. 11, the government has taken very seriously the threat of attacks on the U.S. water supply. Federal law requires nearly all community water systems to assess their vulnerability to terrorism.
Big cities employ a range of safeguards against chemical and biological agents, constantly monitoring, testing and treating the water. But electronic protection systems can trace only the toxins they are programmed to detect, Lawler said.
Bluegills — a hardy species about the size of a human hand — are considered more versatile. They are highly attuned to chemical disturbances in their environment, and when exposed to toxins, they experience the fish version of coughing, flexing their gills to expel unwanted particles.
The computerized system in use in San Francisco and elsewhere is designed to detect even slight changes in the bluegills' vital signs and send an e-mail alert when something is wrong.
San Francisco's bluegills went to work about a month ago, guarding the drinking water of more than 1 million people from substances such as cyanide, diesel fuel, mercury and pesticides. Eight bluegills swim in a tank deep in the basement of a water treatment plant south of the city.
"It gave us the best of both worlds, which is basically all the benefits that come from nature and the best of high-tech," said Susan Leal, general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
New York City has been testing its system since 2002 and is seeking to expand it. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection reported at least one instance in which the system caught a toxin before it made it into the water supply: The fish noticed a diesel spill two hours earlier than any of the agency's other detection devices.
They do have limitations. While the bluegills have successfully detected at least 30 toxic chemicals, they cannot reliably detect germs. And they are no use against other sorts of attacks — say, the bombing of a water main, or an attack by computer hackers on the systems that control the flow of water.
Still, Lawler said more than a dozen other cities have ordered the anti-terror apparatus, called the Intelligent Aquatic BioMonitoring System, which was originally developed for the Army and starts at around $45,000.
San Francisco plans to install two more bluegill tanks.
"It provides us an added level of detection of the unknown," said Tony Winnicker, a spokesman for the city's Public Utilities Commission. "There's no computer that's as sophisticated as a living being."
Reprinted from Policeone.com
Monday, September 18, 2006
INTERESTING WEB SITES:
High Tech Crime Investigation Associationhttp://www.htcia.org/
Financial Crimes Enforcement Networkhttp://www.fincen.gov/.
IACP Law Enforcement Info Managementhttp://www.iacptechnology.org/
United Nations Crime and Justice Info Networkhttp://www.uncjin.org/
High Tech Crime Investigation Associationhttp://www.htcia.org/
Financial Crimes Enforcement Networkhttp://www.fincen.gov/.
IACP Law Enforcement Info Managementhttp://www.iacptechnology.org/
United Nations Crime and Justice Info Networkhttp://www.uncjin.org/
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.”
Thucydides quote
Thucydides quote
“LEST WE FORGET…”
WTC Victims of Attack:
Sgt John Coughlin #3751, ESS4
Sgt Michael Curtin #3256, Ess2
Sgt Rodney Gillis, #1889, ESS8
Sgt Timothy Roy #2926, STED
Det Claude Richards #244, Bomb Squad
Det Joseph Vigiano #4511, ESS3
PO John Dallara #4011, ESS2
PO Vincent Danz #2166, ESS3
PO Jerome Dominguez #10003, ESS3
PO Stephen Driscoll #17482, ESS4
PO Mark Ellis #11441, TD4
PO Robert Fazio #6667, 13 Pct
PO Ronald Kloepfer #22403, ESS7
PO Thomas Langone #14356, ESS10
PO james Leahy #8943, 6 Pct
PO Brian McDonnell #6889, ESS1
PO John Perry #3266, 40 Pct
PO Glen Pettit #3815, PAPO
Moira Smith #10467, 13 Pct
PO Ramon Suarez #12671, TD4
PO Paul Talty #28907, ESS10
PO Santos Valentin #21630, ESS7
PO Walter Weaver #2784, ESS3
WTC Victims of Attack:
Sgt John Coughlin #3751, ESS4
Sgt Michael Curtin #3256, Ess2
Sgt Rodney Gillis, #1889, ESS8
Sgt Timothy Roy #2926, STED
Det Claude Richards #244, Bomb Squad
Det Joseph Vigiano #4511, ESS3
PO John Dallara #4011, ESS2
PO Vincent Danz #2166, ESS3
PO Jerome Dominguez #10003, ESS3
PO Stephen Driscoll #17482, ESS4
PO Mark Ellis #11441, TD4
PO Robert Fazio #6667, 13 Pct
PO Ronald Kloepfer #22403, ESS7
PO Thomas Langone #14356, ESS10
PO james Leahy #8943, 6 Pct
PO Brian McDonnell #6889, ESS1
PO John Perry #3266, 40 Pct
PO Glen Pettit #3815, PAPO
Moira Smith #10467, 13 Pct
PO Ramon Suarez #12671, TD4
PO Paul Talty #28907, ESS10
PO Santos Valentin #21630, ESS7
PO Walter Weaver #2784, ESS3
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)