Bittorrent vs Comcast?

[Bad Karma]

[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]So my dad calls me in a panic. He says he got this email from Comcast saying that they tracked him downloading something on bittorrent and that he needs to call them or they will shut off his service. I made sure to give him as much crap as possible about downloading porn but no way he did it. He doesn

[Iceaxe]

Just call Comcast and ask "whatz up?".... I have not heard of Comcast accepting the roll on Internet cop.

They will tell ya if its real or not.... Comcast is hurting for customers, they are not going to drop you...

[cachehiker]

First and foremost, I would NOT call the phone number given in the email. My bet is phishing and the first thing they'll try and do is "verify" billing information hoping that the bills are either being charged to a credit card or automatically withdrawn from a bank account. I've supposedly gotten them from most every financial institution I work with and that includes a couple of pretty small credit unions. Knock on wood. Another one is now coming from Vanguard, the only institution I haven't seen spoofed in my email.

If he remains unconvinced, I would look up the number for the local office or customer service and call them.

[denaliguide]

first not everything downloaded on bittorrent is illegal. second just tell your dad to call and say "great, i was looking for a way to get out of my contract without a penalty". that should shut em up.

[IntrepidXJ]

Cable providers will contact you if they find you are downloading something illegally on bittorrent....however, every person I know that has been contacted by their cable provider has received a letter via US Mail....not an email. The first one is usually just a warning.....I have Bresnan here in GJ and they have a 3-strike rule before they cut off your service.

[Iceaxe]

however, every person I know that has been contacted by their cable provider has received a letter via US Mail....not an email.

THIS ^^^

An email like that sent to me would just be forwarded to my spam folder....

first not everything downloaded on bittorrent is illegal.

AND THIS ^^^

[BruteForce]

How about a copy/paste of the email. I would tend to agree that you'd get this information via US Mail, rather than email.

[theking648]

if it's email it's not legit.(they like things on paper)

and second, I've never heard of a S&D where you have to call them or they cut your service.

this is phishing at its finest

[accadacca]

Interesting...

Yeah, have him forward you the email and post it here.

Better yet, have him call the number and immediately start rattling off a credit card number.

[Bad Karma]

Ok so I called him and he had already called the number and just told them he was on an open router and that anyone could have done it. They said just to make sure it was not on his computer. I'll see if I can get a copy of the email and post here.

Thanks everyone

[Bad Karma]

Here’s the email from abuse-noreply@comcast.net
Please contact Comcast Security Assurance at 1-888-565-4329
Dear Comcast High-Speed Internet Subscriber,
Comcast has received a notification by a copyright owner, or its authorized agent, reporting an alleged infringement of one or more copyrighted works made on or over Comcast’s High-Speed Internet service (the ‘Service’). The copyright owner has identified the Internet Protocol (‘IP’) address associated with your Service account at the time as the source of the infringing works. The works identified by the copyright owner in its notification are listed below. Comcast reminds you that use of the Service (or any part of the Service) in any manner that constitutes an infringement of any copyrighted work is a violation of Comcast’s Acceptable Use Policy and may result in the suspension or termination of your Service account.
If you have any questions regarding this notice you may direct them to Comcast in writing by sending a letter or e-mail to:
Comcast Customer Security Assurance
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC
Mount Laurel, NJ 08054 USA
Phone: (888) 565-4329
Fax: (856) 324-2940

For more information regarding Comcast’s copyright infringement policy, procedures, and contact information, please read our Acceptable Use Policy by clicking on the Terms of Service link at http://www.comcast.net.

Sincerely,

Comcast Customer Security Assurance

Copyright work(s) identified in the notification of claimed infringement:

Then it lists the title, source, timestamp, filename, file size, IP address, DNS name, Bay ID and Port ID. Talked to the family that was there and it may have been accurate info, though I can't confirm that yet.

[Bad Karma]

Talking to the old man and when he called them it took a 1/2 hr to get thru to a person and he was not asked for billing info. His Name and address were in the email they sent to him. He thinks they did ask for the phone # on his account but nothing else. At the top of the email is a "Notice of Action under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

[theking648]

That looks like a normal c&d.

When you posted "call us or your service will be terminated" that didn't sound right.

But this says stop doing it or else.

Also I would have asked them to prove that I had that ip at that time, but I would have ignored the email in the first place.

[Sombeech]

Then it lists the title, source, timestamp, filename, file size,

So what was the file that was downloaded?

[Bad Karma]

She downloaded one of the seasons of House.

Thanks for the input everyone

[Iceaxe]

Reading back through all this it appears that Comcast didn't really give a crap until they were contacted by a copyright holder.... so my question is, how is a copyright holder able to track who is downloading? Unless maybe the copyright holder is also the uploader and tracker?

And it seems to me the copyright holders would be much better served if they were going after the uploaders.

This still doesn't ring true to me as it seems really odd that anyone would go after and old man who downloaded an episode of House when there are much bigger targets. Heck, I know folks who are currently seeding several thousand albumns, every new release on Netflicks and at lease half a dozen yet to be released screeners.... that seems like the people the copyright holders should be targeting.

Anyhoo.... just curious as to how this all works.

[Sombeech]

Reading back through all this it appears that Comcast didn't really give a crap until they were contacted by a copyright holder.... so my question is, how is a copyright holder able to track who is downloading? Unless maybe the copyright holder is also the uploader and tracker?

I think the content owner is making it available to download just to see the record of who downloaded it from them, then they contact the ISPs and say "these are your IP addresses that are illegally downloading my content...." Otherwise there would be no way for the owner to track IP addresses if it were coming from overseas servers and such.

[denaliguide]

I think the content owner is making it available to download just to see the record of who downloaded it from them, then they contact the ISPs and say "these are your IP addresses that are illegally downloading my content...." Otherwise there would be no way for the owner to track IP addresses if it were coming from overseas servers and such.

that's entrapment!!!

[tmartenst]

Do you guys know if PeerGuardian really does a good job of blocking your IP address?

[jman]

Do you guys know if PeerGuardian really does a good job of blocking your IP address?

Peerblock is the new peerguardian. And it's free.

Btw, is Bogley and its members condoning copyright infringement? Hah