Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'scam webpages'.
-
Over the last six months I have seen at least 3 journal/forum topics about www.french-asia.com pointing out that they are ripping off people?s profiles from TF and selling email addresses to punters who believe TFers are actually hunting for a French husband. I notice that most of the rightly indignant comments are accompanied by such things as ?threatening legal action?, ?highly illegal? and ?exposure? over what is a pretty feeble scam. What the site is doing is clearly wrong but: (1) I am not convinced it is illegal. Just take a look at the website http://www.french-asia.com/Menu/presentation_anglais.htm and tell me exactly what is illegal about what they are doing? What law are you referring to? (2) Now you might claim a breech of copyright over your own photos. But so what? You are unlikely to be able to sue for compensation unless you can prove that you have lost income (or suffered financial damage) from this breech. While you might be able to persuade the server that is publishing your pic to remove it (out of goodwill), there will be nothing to stop the web site moving your pic to another server. (3) Now of course you might say that the hapless Frenchman who has handed over good money to get your email address should be able to claim back his money as you are not looking for a French husband. I doubt it... afterall you have published your profile on the internet saying that you are interested in ?meeting: anyone/men? etc.. The web site issn?t really claiming much more. My point is pretty simple. It might be very irritating to you that you receive these emails. It might be really annoying that someone is making money from selling your email address but I don?t think what they are doing is illegal (and if it is, I don?t think it is enforceable). Just bear in mind that newspapers and TV channels make money every single day by publishing pictures of celebrities with lies attached and in most cases there is absolutely nothing that the celebrities can do about it. Then bear in mind that you are not a celebrity (so you cant claim compensation for say a loss of a film role or whatever) and it is difficult to see exactly what lie this web site has published about you (even if they might have implied you want to date a Frenchman). Lets face it what has this website done? Well they have taken publicly available information off the internet and published it on their site. They havent broken into your home and stolen your photos. Now the fact that the frenchman is a mug for paying for that information when he could just join TF get it for free is rather beside the point I would think. I am not a lawyer so I might be wrong but I would love to see a precedent. My guess is that TFers can complain about the situation as much as they like but there is nothing they can do about it (apart from publish on the internet what a scam they think it is). I have been through something similar incident with a national newspaper and I was told by a pretty decent lawyer that there was absolutely nothing I could feasibly do about it. The burden of proof and of damages is very high. Incidentally wasn?t there someone looking for a job to do in Thailand. Maybe www.French-asia.com would make a good business model.