Got an email from Comcast - is this something I should worry about?

Question

I use The Pirate Bay pretty often to download stuff, and I got an email from Comcast the other day letting me know that it was copyright infringement and whatnot. My question: Are they like, paying more attention to me than usual, meaning I should stay the heck away from torrents, or was it just a form letter that doesn't have any permanent significance?

No lectures on morality, please - I've heard it all before. Just thinking about safety.

Here's the email, for context:


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
1800 Bishops Gate Blvd., 3rd Floor East Wing
Mount Laurel, NJ 08054 U.S.A.
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

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

Answer 1

Nothing will probably happen. Comcast wasn't monitoring you. Whatever agency that was monitoring the torrent identified your IP address as belonging to Comcast and sent Comcast the notice. Comcast is just forwarding it to you. They'll probably keep it on file. If you get too many notices they might dump your account for making them bother with the complaints.



Of course the worst thing that could happen is that you'll get sued. Naturally the safest action you could take is to not put yourself at risk.

Answer 2

Yeah, sure, this is the kind of crap that I supposedly "Infringed":



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



Evidence:

Case ID: P72854368

Work Title: Rocco's Young Anal Adventures Copyright Owner: Echo Alpha Inc DBA Evil Angel Unauthorized File Name: Rocco's Young Anal Adventurers (Evil Angel) XXX DVDRip Unauthorized Hash:

787de9c0477a1dbe071bebb3350937efa62179df

Unauthorized File Size: 2204788736 bytes Unauthorized Protocol: BitTorrent

Timestamp: 2014-05-20 11:10:19 North American Eastern Time Unauthorized IP Address: XX.XX.XXX.XXX Unauthorized Port: 56789"



The titles are ALWAYS some screwball porno something-or-other.

When I contact COMCAST and ask them what the deal is, they tell me that they never sent such and email and have not received any complaints for my account and IP Address. I think that it is a SCAM of some sort.

Answer 3

If you are downloading copyrighted material illegally, stop doing it. If you haven't downloaded anything illegally, you can argue with Comcast—the mere fact that a copyright holder asked about your IP address doesn't necessarily prove that you've done anything wrong, as there are many variables. If you haven't downloaded anything illegally and Comcast terminates your service, you can sue both Comcast and/or the copyright holder. However, make SURE that you haven't actually downloaded illegally before you argue or sue. If you are infringing copyrights, your best course of action is to stop infringing and keep a low profile, and maybe you'll avoid any further trouble.

Answer 4

Yes, your account has been flagged for copyright infringement, which (as they say) is a violation of the contract you agreed to when you started the service. They can, in fact, terminate you immediately, but have chosen to warn you. If I were you, I would make a backup of all my Comcast files (email, website, etc), so that I would not instantly lose EVERYTHING when they terminate the account without further warning.

Answer 5

Wow....haha that sounds pretty legit. I'd go do some internet searches and see if Comcast really follows through on those warnings. I'd assume if you continue what you're doing the most they'll do is disconnect service, but if you get really really unlucky you could have lawsuit on your hands from the people who were tracking your IP address.