This is rather disturbing. Why is someone trying to sell MY washers

[whirlykenmore78]

BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THIS PHONY CRAIGSLIST ADD IN MINNEAPOLIS.

I was surfing CL last night and found a listing for a working Whirlpool W&d set for $100. When I clicked on it I found MY 1985 Imperial 70 set being offered up for sale! I don't know how someone got the picture unless they saw it in a thread on this site or hacked my computer.

There was no seller phone # but I did send off a very strong return email. I'll wait and see if I hear from him.

I'll be letting Robert know this happened too.
Nick WK78

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/app/2937273307.html

 

[pdub]

Nick,

This has happened here before. What is probably the case is that the seller has a washer and dryer like yours to sell and either they are not accessible to take a picture of, or the seller was just lazy and did a Google Image search and when they found your picture that looked close to their machines, they used it in the ad.

Hopefully they aren't trying to defraud anyone but as usual, buyer beware!

Patrick

 

[Unimatic1140]

Hi Nick, sorry to hear that. You were wise to let everyone know that this might be a possible scam. Thank you for doing that!

Patrick is correct, most likely they picked that image of your Whirlpool set up off of google images and have never even been to this site. I also suspect that is not a scam of any sort because before someone goes and buys a washer of this type they go over and look at it first. I'm sure the seller just was lazy.

Everyone has to remember once you post a picture on the internet, its out there for the world to do as they wish with it. I know some people here might say that they have no right to do that, and theoretically they don't but ask the movie studios and music industry how telling people they have no right to do that has worked out for them. YES by law that picture is your copyright and they are breaking the law, but it is up to the copyright owner to do something about it. Copyright law is civil, not criminal so your only recourse would be to sue the seller and that can run into tens of thousands of dollars with little chance of coming out ahead in the end.

The only other thing you can do is email both the seller and craigslist but I have no idea if either will take your email seriously.

Every picture I post on the internet I consider to be in the public domain. I find my images re-posted all over the place, but I generally consider it a compliment.

I've seen multiple posts about this subject lately here on aw.org and the only way you can stop people from using your images is not to post them in the first place. I know that's not the answer that many are looking for, but its the reality of the internet and no one has been able to figure out how to stop it.

 

[sudsmaster]

One way some people use to counter image piracy is to superimpose one's name or company name across the image. In a way that is difficult to Photoshop out, I guess. But that kind of takes away a lot of the pleasure in sharing a nice image with others. There are also some websites that won't allow one to cut and paste. Snopes.com is one of them, at least for the text on their site. But I suppose some people have figured out a way to circumvent that kind of defense as well.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Thanks Guys

I appreciate all the info. I have not heard back from the seller and I doubt he'll want to talk to me after how I unloaded on him in my Cease and Decist email. I did not cuss him out but was very forceful.
Robert thanks for the explanation it does help when someone with a great knowledge of these things explains them.
Rest assured guys the Whirlpools are safe and sound at their home in Prior Lake and are not leaving the AW.org family anytime soon LOL.
Nick WK78

 

[philr]

This happens often. A few weeks ago, I was looking at vehicles for sale on local classifieds and I did find an ad which showed two pictures,  one of them being a picture of my own truck, and another one which wasn't mine! I figured that the owner didn't bother taking the time to picture his own truck and just found similar ones on Google... I don't care much about that because otherwise, I wouldn't post any pics on the net! 

 

I care more about pictures showing myself or anyone and I'm very careful when I post one. But unfortunately, even if you care, things are a bit out of control because friends, co workers or anyone with a phone or a camera can post pictures or videos of you without your permission on Facebook or anywhere on the net! I have a friend who's also a co worker who clearly expressed he hates being seen on internet and clearly asked not to be photographed again to everyone at my job. At the next office party, the same person who posted and tagged pictures before,  took pictures of him again and sent them on the net but this time telling others who received it, not to show the pictures to this co worker (who didn't have a Facebook account)... When I saw this, I showed it to my friend and the very next day, he had created a Facebook account to monitor the pictures in which he was already tagged on Facebook!

 

Another friend of mine went to the tourist information center with his girlfriend and he saw the cover of a folder showing him clearly from profile with his ex girlfriend 10 years before! He was not aware he had been photographed at this place!

 

BTW, if you're curious to see what Google has on you, jus type some informations like your username on this or another forum and you might be surprised! And try with the brand or model of your machines too!

 

[mistereric]

In the upper right hand corner of the ad - click Flag, Prohibited.

If this one isn't selling YOUR equipment, they are misrepresenting, right?

See:

"(5) false or fraudulent content (including but not limited to false, fraudulent or misleading responses to user ads transmitted via craigslist)"

If enough people flag the post, it comes down.

 

[cleanteamofny]

 

 

Using windows paint:

 

[cleanteamofny]

 

 

Like so:

 

[whirlykenmore78]

@cleanteamofny

Thanks for the advice I'll have to do that.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Nick-1 Image theif -0

Apparently I made enough noise and the post was taken down. That'll show em.
Nick WK78