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Scam attempt

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javanaze Posted messages 25 Status Member -  
brucine Posted messages 24842 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   -
Hello,

Fifteen days ago, I was contacted by an English "Compliance and Enforcement" company claiming to act on behalf of their client, the copyright owner of software (Solidworks), alleging that an illegal copy is supposedly present on my computer, in violation of the copyright of the said software.
This company provides a serial number of the alleged illegal copy and a MAC address (Media Access Control) or physical address of my computer.

However,
firstly, I do not have an illegal copy on my computer, so I cannot know the serial number of this supposed illegal copy on my computer.
Secondly, this MAC address is not mine.

What is strange is that despite my reasoned responses, this company insists that I financially regularize the situation and keeps pursuing me constantly.

I suspect an attempted extortion... Has anyone had a similar experience?

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Javanaze

14 answers

  1.
    Afrikarnak Posted messages 17653 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   Ambassadeur 14 519
     
    Hello

    One might wonder whether these 'intrusions' into a hard drive by an 'entity' that does not have the legitimacy do not constitute an offense under the Penal Code:

    See C.P L323-12

    That said, using a 'cracked' key is illegal. However, the way to detect it seems 'borderline' and questionable since users who have never installed this software have been 'threatened'...

    Catch you later
    10
  2. fiolator Posted messages 1 Status Member 4
     
    Hello,
    I experienced the same thing;
    I also received today a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt from their legal counsel (a Parisian law firm)
    it feels very real...
    I uninstalled SW

    What to do?
    Guillaume
    4
    1. lili59000
       
      Hello, is the installed version a version with a cracked key that you found online?
      If so, even after uninstalling, you will be forced to pay their very expensive fine... However, the letter I received is from a firm in London and not Paris....
      Have you had any contact from Dassault Systemes who called you....
      Good luck...
      0
    2. fiolator
       
      no idea where the key comes from; does it change anything?
      I had contact with a company in Spain that claimed I needed to regularize by purchasing a license; the same with a British company
      I replied that I didn't have enough need to buy a license.
      I used it 5 times in 6 months to consult SW files, not to create them...
      0
    3. fiolator > lili59000
       
      how much is the fine
      do you know anyone in my situation who had to pay?
      1
    4. lili59000
       
      To explain clearly, you must have had a cracked key that "flashed" on the Dassault Systèmes servers which alerted them that the SW software is being used fraudulently. With your IP address, they contacted you (the mediator from Dassault). They don't care that you need it anymore... Did they talk to you about which version of SW to buy? If it's the Premium version, it's €12,000 for a professional to be purchased within 15 days at best, or 1 month.
      If you are an individual, it might be less and negotiable.
      If you refuse, the matter will go to court...
      You shouldn't take it lightly...
      Afterward, on this site, others have dropped it... and it worked...
      As you may have read in my previous comments, I thought it was a scam, but in the meantime, I did my research, and it's not a scam (for our case).
      Who is your contact??
      Good luck.
      0
    5. fiolator > lili59000
       
      Hello,
      Thank you for your response; I called their law firm yesterday (De Gaulle Fleurance and Associates / Sophie Delaunay) to explain my situation.
      The firm never mentioned buying a SW version. They handle disputes and work with a London law firm (the lawyers of Dassault)
      They advised me to respond to them in writing explaining my situation, and based on that, they will propose an amount for compensation for the damage; she didn't give me an exact amount but assured me that the amounts could be much lower than the license and that there is a case-by-case study at Dassault. (12,000€ for 4 or 5 hours of use seems a bit much...)
      Maybe they just want me to "confess" in writing to better coerce me into paying later; in any case, the person I spoke to seemed conciliatory and was listening to me and understanding regarding my issue.
      What does it mean for the case to go to court?
      I will check in with my lawyer and see what he advises.
      Should I confess, make my mea culpa hoping for a fair "sentence" related to my 4 or 5 hours of use, or should I deny everything...?
      0
  3. Doug
     

    Hello everyone,

    I'm bringing this topic up again to find out how your disputes were resolved?

    Did you all have to purchase a paid license? Did you go to court?

    Thank you in advance for your feedback

    1
  4. Anonymous user
     
    Hello

    How is she following up with you?
    0
  6. Chris 94 Posted messages 1937 Registration date   Status Moderator Last intervention   7 536
     
    Hi,

    Isn't this MAC address yours? Never mind!

    If it had been yours, it would have been useful to check that it wasn't turned into a zombie by crooks to store pirated copies.

    --
    People who fight can lose. People who don't fight have already lost.
    (Bertolt BRECHT)
    0
  7. v tec
     
    Hello, what's going on with the follow-up? We have the same issue.
    0
    1. nathalie75000 Posted messages 2 Status Member
       
      Hello, me too, what have you decided to do? Thank you.
      0
      1. Anonymous user > nathalie75000 Posted messages 2 Status Member
         
        Hello,

        Well, you simply don't respond.

        From the moment we show signs of life, the fish is hooked. It's not you, so why follow up?

        And how do we contact you: email?
        Meh!
        0
  8. nathalie75000 Posted messages 2 Status Member
     
    Hello, same issue here, javanaze, have you had any updates? Thank you.
    0
    1. lili59000
       
      Hello, what were the outcomes since November?
      0
  9. nico1012
     
    Hello, same situation here. The guy calls from a number in Spain, sends an email stamped Dassault... it's all well put together. But the only problem is that here nobody uses Solidworks. In my opinion, it's a scam!!
    0
    1. nico1012
       
      If anyone has information, I'm interested.
      0
    2. lili59000
       
      We have the same problem except that we have a legal version of Solidworks. Did you have any follow-up on this matter?
      0
  10. Ac
     
    Hello,

    Same situation for me. What has happened on your side? Contact in Spain and the UK with a lawyer's letter that never arrives...

    Thank you.

    Best regards.
    0
    1. lili59000
       
      We have the same case except that we have a legal version of Solidworks, have you had any updates on this matter?
      0
  11. lili59000
     
    Hello, similarly, we have been contacted by someone in Spain who tells us to regularize our account and is asking for a very large sum. Meanwhile, we have a legal version on a computer.
    And when I ask for details, he says he can't provide them because only a prosecutor or lawyer can open the case, and he is a mediator and doesn’t have the authority to give us precise information.
    Is an email legally binding?
    Normally, for a request to regularize an account, a registered letter should be sent to us, right?
    How can we tell if this email is real or not? If it isn’t a scam?
    For others who have encountered this problem, did you respond or not??
    0
    1. bendrop Posted messages 12659 Registration date   Status Contributor Last intervention   8 527
       
      Hello.

      I would like to understand... Sorry to be blunt, but are you stubborn (a shock treatment is necessary in your case) and have you read the comments provided https://forums.commentcamarche.net/forum/affich-32586470-tentative-d-arnaque#6
      So you are no longer responding and you are deleting the email. It's a scam.

      Best regards.
      0
    2. lili59000
       
      Thank you, yes I have read the comments, but when I do searches on the Net with the names of the people who emailed me, I find them on LinkedIn and working at Dassault Systèmes.
      Have you encountered this?
      Thank you for the wake-up call!!
      0
    3. nico1012
       
      It's not a scam, at least not totally; I've followed up on my research a bit. The guy calling from Spain does indeed work for Dassault. I was able to verify it. But he has no information about my computers or my software. In any case, nothing valuable. And above all, I don't have the software they accuse me of pirating. I have confirmed several times by email that I had nothing and that I would take action against them if they continued their solicitations. The guy backed off, I received one last call from a "legal" department in the UK, then nothing more, that was in July 2018. I later saw on Dassault's website that you could anonymously report someone using their pirated software. It's up to them then to escalate the issue to make someone pay. That's it.
      0
    4. lili59000
       
      Thank you for this response. Yes, we are not entirely sure if this is true or not. Scammers may have used the identity of real people.
      I am tempted to let it go and wait. But scams are so well organized that one must remain cautious. Did he also demand an exorbitant sum from you?
      0
    5. lili59000
       
      It turns out that Avenao called today and do not want to send any letter or email.... I couldn't get them on the phone because I was busy, but I strongly believe that this is purely an attempted scam.... I'm looking for a loophole.... I need to reach them by phone next week.... to be continued in the next episode...
      1
  12. lilli44 Posted messages 1 Status Member
     
    Hello,
    I believe I am a victim of the same problem. Do you have any email exchange photos for comparison, please?
    0
    1. AsterixMG Posted messages 4 Status Member 1
       
      Hello, the story happened to me a few days ago and I came to terms with it, in reality this issue was not resolved, I will solve it my way in the next post.
      0
    2. AsterixMG Posted messages 4 Status Member 1
       
      Timeline of events:

      - Contacted by CJCH Sollicitors (English law firm)
      Email threatening to take legal action against us

      - I responded within the 4-day deadline

      - Contacted by email and by call by "Jean-Christophe F..."
      sales mediator

      - Agreed to an amicable solution

      - Met with a free lawyer (Justice House) (he doesn't believe it, advises to ignore it, but doesn't really know)
      Contacted my legal service (I'm at fault, they can't intervene, but they say to ignore it)

      - Contacted by email and by call by a sales engineer from Avenao (authorized SolidWorks reseller in France)

      - Agreed to attend the scheduled meeting and signed the documents

      - Today, a happy owner of the software
      -1
      1. FG74 > AsterixMG Posted messages 4 Status Member
         
        Hello AsterixMG.

        In the end, how long did you have to acquire the license?
        What is the price of a license?

        Thank you in advance for your response.
        0
      2. AsterixMG > FG74
         
        I subscribed to the license for one year, I canceled the subscription by registered letter before the end of the first year, this story cost me 9,000 euros.
        1
    3. AsterixMG Posted messages 4 Status Member 1
       
      Overall, I eventually understood that I should have never responded to the first email; they act like a large threatening advertising campaign to recover as many pirated licenses under their wings. The problem is that, as mentioned above, once you respond, the fish is hooked, and you can never be too sure that you haven't gone too far with them to turn back. Legal experts would say that there is very little chance they will take legal action and that it won't lead to anything, and of course, the friendly Avanao resellers will say that we will automatically find ourselves in court (sales tactic or reality, to be seen). I searched through an English forum, where someone did the opposite and ignored them from the start; they eventually sent a registered letter to which he did not respond, and received a final email telling him that the law firm is dropping the case. But is all this the same situation? We'll see.
      2
  13. Hiobo
     

    Hello Doug,

    I'm experiencing the same thing today as "AsterixMG"

    CJCH Sollicitors contacted me by email in the morning
    Jean-Christophe F... contacted me by email in the afternoon

    I haven't sent the read receipts for the emails.

    I'm waiting to see if anyone calls me.
    I only have mobile phones, so it won't be easy for them.

    Given the various comments, I expect to receive a letter, or nothing!

    Oh and one important thing:

    For my part, this is not identity theft.
    Jean-Christophe F's email address really comes from the Dassault domain.

    That's it :)

    0
    1. MG
       

      Hello Doug,

      I'm experiencing the same issue today. The message from CJCH Solicitors was forwarded to me by Dassault themselves.

      Are you a company? Have you been able to resolve the issue?

      Thank you.

      0
      1. Goalkeeper > MG
         

        Good evening

        I'm facing the same problem, where are you today with your situation?

        0
    2. Goalkeeper
       

      Good evening

      I am experiencing the same problem, how did your situation get resolved?

      Did you have a dispute?

      Thank you

      0
  14. John7872 Posted messages 8 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   3
     

    Hello,

    I confirm that these letters are likely to be official. There is a blog post on this subject here: http://xdinnovation.eu/2022/11/18/comment-avoir-solidworks-gratuitement-et-en-toute-legalite/

    0
  15. Goalkeeper
     

    Good evening

    I received an email today from F. Jean Christophe regarding a pirated Solidworks license.

    There is also the name of an English law firm.

    What should I do, is it a scam or not?

    I find the email to be genuine, but I'm not sure if I should respond.

    Thank you for your responses

    0
    1. brucine Posted messages 24842 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   4 169
       

      Hello,

      Just because you keep asking the same question and someone in particular answers it or not doesn’t mean it will provide any answers at all.

      To put it more clearly, justice is individualized and the sanctions applied to some do not automatically apply to others.

      It is a given that Dassault Systems will systematically seek to assert its rights, but the burden of proof lies with them.

      From there, and even if the offense is established, some have played dead at their own risk, the dispute may be abandoned if the evidence is insufficient, others have preferred to negotiate at preferential rates, the courts have systematically imposed heavy penalties if the case has gone that far.

      It is obvious that Dassault Systems will prefer legal action against professionals for pedagogical value, because it is legally easier and they are usually more solvent, but no one can assume that there won’t be actions taken against a particular individual.

      1