Yes, there are some #homeless content creators from #YT that I link to from here that use #AI #LLM images. I would prefer everyone use #pixabay and such #royaltyFree images, but I am not going to punch down. They're trying to make a buck to stay alive for now and holding onto hope of making it back to "normal" life in a home.
Discussions about the morals of AI-use concerning them can wait.
The Latest Blogging and Publishing Scams You Need to Be Aware Of Now
Let me begin with a new scam that is unrelated to blogging or publishing. It’s a scam that comes via a voicemail message on mobile phones.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve had the same call and message saying, ‘Please add my number to WhatsApp.’ Each time, the number the scammer uses is slightly different, but it’s always the voice of the same woman.
Thanks to Apple’s advanced AI, my phone now does a great job at identifying spam calls and sends them straight to voicemail. It doesn’t even ring. The spammers’ numbers then show in my call list, which I mark as ‘Spam – Delete and send details to Apple.’ I should add that since I enabled AI on my phone, the number of spam calls I receive has dropped significantly.
The latest Blogging scams
Recently, I encountered a concerning blogging email scam. It purportedly originated from WordPress, claiming that my payment details were incorrect in my account and included a link for me to click to rectify them.
I immediately recognised the email as fraudulent because the email failed to address me by name. All it said was ‘Dear WordPress User,’ But what alarmed me was that the same scammer went on to also send me the same email through the ‘Contact Hugh‘ form on my blog, neglecting to begin the message with ‘Dear Hugh.’ It’s important to note that I request anyone using the form to begin their message with ‘Dear Hugh,’ as this practice helps identify potential spam, particularly from automated spam bots.
I don’t know how the scammer obtained my email address, but it must have appeared on a list with some connection to WordPress. This is likely how they discovered I had a WordPress blog, although nowhere on my blog do I provide an email address. Anyone wanting to contact me must go via the ‘Contact Hugh’ form.
Although this was an easy scam for me to spot, I still feel bad for any blogger who falls for it. If you are unsure whether an email from WordPress is genuine, always log in to your WordPress account to verify any details. Never click on any uninvited links and never give an email address anywhere on your blog.
Image generated using WordPress AIHowever, more concerning was news of a blogging scam that involved using royalty-free platforms, such as Pixabay. Author, writer and blogger Jacqueline Lambert left a comment on my recent post, Where To Legally Source Amazing Images For Your Blog Posts.’ outlining how she was almost scammed by a company after using a royalty-free image from Pixabay on one of her posts.
I strongly encourage you to read Jacqueline’s insightful post ‘Bloggers Beware The Copyright Trolls – Even If You Use Royalty-Free Images‘ to glean valuable lessons from her experience. It is imperative to remain vigilant and not become a target of such scams that specifically seek to exploit bloggers.
I would also like to reiterate that downloading and publishing copyrighted images or photographs on your blog is strictly prohibited. Always verify that such materials are free for use. This also applies to reblogging blog posts from other bloggers that contain images or photos. If you share copyrighted images from another blogger’s post, you could be fined.
A plea to you – yes, you!
Despite my recent post addressing copyright infringement, I continue to observe bloggers (you know who you are) using images and photos in their posts without proper attribution regarding their sources. They probably believe that nobody will come after them for downloading and using copyrighted images, but I know of two bloggers who have been fined for doing so. Never believe that it will never happen to you.
Even if the images and photos are your own, I recommend that you indicate in your post that they are your property. If you don’t believe me, read Jacqueline’s post. As she elaborates, numerous companies are employing image recognition technology to scan the internet for unauthorised use of images and photographs, especially in blogging posts. Some bloggers have even been threatened with legal action and fines for using their own pictures.
The latest publishing scam
My thanks again to Jacqueline, who recently published a guest post by author Peter Barber about a publishing scam he fell for. Titled ‘Publish and Be Damned: How I Got Scammed, Learned My Lesson, and Came Out Fighting‘, Peter details how he fell head-over-heels for a scam many authors will probably encounter at some point in their writing lives. I urge you to read his post and learn from it because it could happen to you.
Are you aware of any current scams related to blogging or publishing? Please share details in the comments section. Have you ever fallen victim to a blogging or publishing scam? If so, what happened?
The featured image on this blog post is sourced from Pixabay. AI reviewed spelling and grammar errors.
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#blogging #bloggingScams #copyright #phishing #pixabay #publishing #royalFreeImages #scammers #scams #wordpress #wordpressHelp
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Desde hace semanas nuestras comunicaciones estaban siendo intervenidas, nuestros mensajes estaban glitcheados y las autoras invitadas desaparecían tras las sombras… como si alguien quisiera impedirnos hablar.
No todas las voces son escuchadas, pero por fin hemos conseguido tener una señal clara para lanzar nuestro mensaje: #Discatopía. Con esta #antología hemos encontrado voces que se han atrevido a #imaginar un millón de #futuros, a poner en el centro lo que tantas veces se silencia y a convertir la diferencia en fuerza narrativa.
🚀 Fecha de #lanzamiento: 1 de noviembre.
🌌 Nombre en clave: Discatopía.
👉 Destino: un viaje hacia mundos donde la #resistencia se escribe con ternura, el #caos convive con la #esperanza y cada relato late con una pregunta: ¿qué futuro imaginamos?
En la #ruta encontrarás inteligencias #artificiales que no entienden de matices, amor en medio del #silencio, visiones de #sociedades que nos resultarán demasiado familiares… y, sobre todo, la certeza de que siempre hay otra opción.
Dicen que el futuro es un lugar incierto, una suma de #caminos posibles que se bifurcan en cada #decisión. ¿Cuál es la tuya?
⚠️♾️🔜 ¿Te unes a la misión?
☣️🆔🔙 ¿Prefieres que otros escriban el futuro?
El viaje está a punto de comenzar.
#AntologíaBenéfica #Distopía #Diversidad #Representación #discapacidad
Efectos de sonido de Universfield & freesound_community en #Pixabay
Toot in eigener Sache:
Ich poste aktuell wieder viele Fotos meiner letzten Ausflüge auf diversen Fotoplattformen und würde mich natürlich sehr freuen, wenn diese ein breites Publikum erreichen. #Instagram nutze ich aus offensichtlichen Gründen schon lange nicht mehr.
Für alle hier im Fediverse existiert z.B. die super praktische Möglichkeit, einfach meinem #Pixelfed Account @MarcRnt@pixelfed.social zu folgen.
Ansonsten bin ich auch auf #Cara #Unsplash #Pexels #Pixabay #DeviantArt #Tumblr #EyeEm zu finden.
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