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86-Year Old Grandma Accused of Pirating a Zombie Game (torrentfreak.com)

Posted by msmash on from the potentially-broken dept.

An 86-year-old woman named Christine McMillan from Ontario, Canada has been accused of downloading a zombie game she's never heard of. She faces $5,000 in potential damages. From a report on TorrentFreak (condensed): McMillan is one of the hundreds of thousands of people who've been accused of copyright infringement under Canada's "notice and notice" regime. Due to a change to Canada's copyright law early last year, ISPs are now required to forward copyright infringement notices to their customers. In the letter received from anti-piracy group Canipre, she's threatened with thousands of dollars in damages, if she doesn't comply. "They didn't tell me how much I owed, they only told me that if I didn't comply, I would be liable for a fine of up to $5,000 and I could pay immediately by entering my credit card number," McMillan told Go Public. At first, McMillan thought she was dealing with spammers but Cogeco, her Internet provider, confirmed that the email with the settlement offer was legitimate. The power of the settlement scheme lies in the uncertainty people face. McMillan is obviously not happy with the notice-and-notice legislation which she brands as "foolish."

4 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. thought she was dealing with spammers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But, she was dealing with scammers

    1. Re:thought she was dealing with spammers by ISoldat53 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I wonder which grand child was using her computer?

  2. Shakedown by sycodon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    shakedown
    noun
    shakedown \shk-daun\

    : the act of taking something (such as money) from someone by using threats or deception

    --
    When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
  3. Re:Probably a witch too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    She doesn't need a lawyer, a legal template reply is already available: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2013/08/arkell-v-pressdram.html

    I'd suggest anyone getting these shakedown letters reply using the above with a suitable anonymized from: address.