Photo Stealers uncover bag full of crazy

Kid Eager

Philosopher
Kid Eager
Joined
Nov 5, 2010
Messages
7,296
The Photo Stealers website uncovers (pretend) photographers who try to market their photographic businesses by stealing real photographers' photos and passing them off as their own work. There's nothing accidental about the photo theft either - crop out owner's watermark, insert their own, make up (or copy-paste) a cute story about "the photo I took".

The latest photo fraud discovery took things to a whole new level of denial and crazy, though. They found themselves a full-on sociopath.

Full story here:
http://stopstealingphotos.com/sjk-photography-aka-picture-stacie-klein-delray-beach-florida/
 
That link leads to the most confusing and disjointed thing I have read (( or rather; attempted to read) on a long time. Who the hell is whom in that? Good guy? Bad guy? Sorry, but I couldn't follow it. No idea what it's about...
 
I'm pretty sure that Brian Williams took all of the photos in dispute. He said it on the nooz.
 
rwguinn said:
That link leads to the most confusing and disjointed thing I have read (( or rather; attempted to read) on a long time. Who the hell is whom in that? Good guy? Bad guy? Sorry, but I couldn't follow it. No idea what it's about...
Click to expand...

This. I honestly can't follow it.

What's the story? Can the OP shed a little light please? :)
 
Sorry but, that's about 11,000 words worth of story and updates. Follow it? I'm not even going to start it.
 
It's not so bad if the story is consumed in small chunks. Skipping over the finer detail, I believe it goes something like this: (PS = Photo Stealers site owner; Billcie = Bill and Stacy, the people who stole the photos)..

  • PS - Here's another photographer who's stolen other's photos and passed then off as their own. Photos and actual owner evidence here, here, here, here, and here. Oh, and they've cut off the watermarks and applied their own. They also appear to be telling their clients that photos A, B, and C are photos of their babies, but are actually photos of somebody else's babies, taken by another photographer entirely.
  • Billsie - No we didn't! Stop trying to wreck our business!
  • PS - Yes you did. More evidence here, here, here and here.
  • Billsie - Lies! Slander! Libel! Badongness! We have teh raw files to prove it!
  • PS - Great - show us the raw files.
  • Billsie - Sod off you bully. They weren't even your photos we stole (oopsie..), but we didn't steal them in any case.
  • A Photographer - Yes, you did steal photos, including one of mine, in fact. Evidence here, here and here.
  • Billsie - Here's a sock puppet account to post on our business website, saying that we're wonderful people.
  • PS - That's a sock puppet account.
  • Billsie - Cyber Bully!!! Waaaah! Libel! Slander! Tervigistation!
  • PS - When are you going to take down the stolen photos?
  • Billsie - You'd better watch out, because we're going to get you.
  • PS - You guys! Crazy talk!
  • Billsie - Contacts employer of poster on PS site and asks them to sack said poster. Threatens employer with mass twitter negative sock puppeting of 1000 accounts if they don't act.
  • Poster and PS - WTF?
  • Billsie - Creates sock puppet facebook account to claim PS said their kids were ugly. So cyber bully, much nasty!
  • Billsie - identifies several of the photographers claiming rights to the stolen photos, create fake negative feedback using more sock accounts on those photographers' business websites. Does same for PS business website.
  • PS and Photographers - Again, WTF?
  • Billsie - Create fake Ripoff Report claims against PS phography business.
  • Billsie - Create Facebook page "Stop Cyber Bullying", calls out PS for eating babies, dismembering kittens, and kicking Pluto out of the solar system. Seeks likes and endorsements. Creates more sock facebook accounts to endorse new facebook page.
  • PS and the Internet - WTF?

Of course, I've glossed over much of the detailed vitriol and bizarreness, but that's kind of the highlights. Don't read the detail if you have an irony sensitivity - you may explode several times.

Story is now being followed on Petapixel, Bullshizer blog, and a thread on Reddit.

(Disclosure - I have no vested interest in the saga, other than being an occasional photographer)
 
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Kid Eager said:
It's not so bad if the story is consumed in small chunks. Skipping over the finer detail, I believe it goes something like this: (PS = Photo Stealers site owner; Billcie = Bill and Stacy, the people who stole the photos)..

  • PS - Here's another photographer who's stolen other's photos and passed then off as their own. Photos and actual owner evidence here, here, here, here, and here. Oh, and they've cut off the watermarks and applied their own. They also appear to be telling their clients that photos A, B, and C are photos of their babies, but are actually photos of somebody else's babies, taken by another photographer entirely.
  • Billsie - No we didn't! Stop trying to wreck our business!
  • PS - Yes you did. More evidence here, here, here and here.
  • Billsie - Lies! Slander! Libel! Badongness! We have teh raw files to prove it!
  • PS - Great - show us the raw files.
  • Billsie - Sod off you bully. They weren't even your photos we stole (oopsie..), but we didn't steal them in any case.
  • A Photographer - Yes, you did steal photos, including one of mine, in fact. Evidence here, here and here.
  • Billsie - Here's a sock puppet account to post on our business website, saying that we're wonderful people.
  • PS - That's a sock puppet account.
  • Billsie - Cyber Bully!!! Waaaah! Libel! Slander! Tervigistation!
  • PS - When are you going to take down the stolen photos?
  • Billsie - You'd better watch out, because we're going to get you.
  • PS - You guys! Crazy talk!
  • Billsie - Contacts employer of poster on PS site and asks them to sack said poster. Threatens employer with mass twitter negative sock puppeting of 1000 accounts if they don't act.
  • Poster and PS - WTF?
  • Billsie - Creates sock puppet facebook account to claim PS said their kids were ugly. So cyber bully, much nasty!
  • Billsie - identifies several of the photographers claiming rights to the stolen photos, create fake negative feedback using more sock accounts on those photographers' business websites. Does same for PS business website.
  • PS and Photographers - Again, WTF?
  • Billsie - Create fake Ripoff Report claims against PS phography business.
  • Billsie - Create Facebook page "Stop Cyber Bullying", calls out PS for eating babies, dismembering kittens, and kicking Pluto out of the solar system. Seeks likes and endorsements. Creates more sock facebook accounts to endorse new facebook page.
  • PS and the Internet - WTF?

Of course, I've glossed over much of the detailed vitriol and bizarreness, but that's kind of the highlights. Don't read the detail if you have an irony sensitivity - you may explode several times.

Story is now being followed on Petapixel, Bullshizer blog, and a thread on Reddit.

(Disclosure - I have no vested interest in the saga, other than being an occasional photographer)
Click to expand...

Thank you for this summary.

I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I ask, "what can we do to get involved?"
 
Is easy:
- create website to advertise your photography business
- think about whether you want a buy a camera or take photos. Having a camera is entirely optional, because there's lots of stuff on the Internet.
- find photos that you wish you had the skills to produce, and copy these to your computer
- crop out the photographer's watermark and apply your own
- put amended photos on your website
- add stories about the photos. You can either make these up, or copy stories from other photographers' websites - either approach is acceptable.
- create an About Us page, in which you claim experience you don't have. Add in an inspirational backstory that you found on another photographers website, but change the order of the paragraphs.

*PROFIT!!!*
 
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Kid Eager said:
It's not so bad if the story is consumed in small chunks. Skipping over the finer detail, I believe it goes something like this: (PS = Photo Stealers site owner; Billcie = Bill and Stacy, the people who stole the photos)..

  • PS - Here's another photographer who's stolen other's photos and passed then off as their own. Photos and actual owner evidence here, here, here, here, and here. Oh, and they've cut off the watermarks and applied their own. They also appear to be telling their clients that photos A, B, and C are photos of their babies, but are actually photos of somebody else's babies, taken by another photographer entirely.
  • Billsie - No we didn't! Stop trying to wreck our business!
  • PS - Yes you did. More evidence here, here, here and here.
  • Billsie - Lies! Slander! Libel! Badongness! We have teh raw files to prove it!
  • PS - Great - show us the raw files.
  • Billsie - Sod off you bully. They weren't even your photos we stole (oopsie..), but we didn't steal them in any case.
  • A Photographer - Yes, you did steal photos, including one of mine, in fact. Evidence here, here and here.
  • Billsie - Here's a sock puppet account to post on our business website, saying that we're wonderful people.
  • PS - That's a sock puppet account.
  • Billsie - Cyber Bully!!! Waaaah! Libel! Slander! Tervigistation!
  • PS - When are you going to take down the stolen photos?
  • Billsie - You'd better watch out, because we're going to get you.
  • PS - You guys! Crazy talk!
  • Billsie - Contacts employer of poster on PS site and asks them to sack said poster. Threatens employer with mass twitter negative sock puppeting of 1000 accounts if they don't act.
  • Poster and PS - WTF?
  • Billsie - Creates sock puppet facebook account to claim PS said their kids were ugly. So cyber bully, much nasty!
  • Billsie - identifies several of the photographers claiming rights to the stolen photos, create fake negative feedback using more sock accounts on those photographers' business websites. Does same for PS business website.
  • PS and Photographers - Again, WTF?
  • Billsie - Create fake Ripoff Report claims against PS phography business.
  • Billsie - Create Facebook page "Stop Cyber Bullying", calls out PS for eating babies, dismembering kittens, and kicking Pluto out of the solar system. Seeks likes and endorsements. Creates more sock facebook accounts to endorse new facebook page.
  • PS and the Internet - WTF?

Of course, I've glossed over much of the detailed vitriol and bizarreness, but that's kind of the highlights. Don't read the detail if you have an irony sensitivity - you may explode several times.

Story is now being followed on Petapixel, Bullshizer blog, and a thread on Reddit.

(Disclosure - I have no vested interest in the saga, other than being an occasional photographer)
Click to expand...

Nommed for "Best Distillation"!
 
Darn. From the thread's title, I expected a scary story where some people steal a bag full of photos, only to find out that said photos depict the activities of a serial killer/sacrifice cult/snuff movie ring/secret gubmint UFO project/granny porn enthusiast/etc.
 
I've never understood stealing someone else's creative work. To value creative work at all, you have to care. But if you care, then wouldn't it feel terrible to get credit for something you know isn't yours? Wouldn't it hurt with every compliment because it's just reminding you that you aren't capable enough to create the thing? Surely if you want to create things it would hurt less to try and fail than to succeed dishonestly. Theft of money and property, sure, no issues there. But taking credit for someone else's creative work, ugh, I can only imagine how horrible that would feel. I cannot see any real artist being able to tolerate feeling that way. You can't love your art if you're able to lie about it.
 
I don't get theft of creative efforts. You have to care to value the work at all. And that would make you feel terrible taking credit for something that isn't yours. Whenever you got a compliment, you would be reminded of your inability to actually do the work. It would be better to fail than fool. If it was something physical, I could understand. But taking credit for another's creativity - that would feel terrible. I can't see how an authentic artist would put up with doing it because of the lousy feelings engendered. You can't both love your art and lie about authorship.
 
Checkmite said:
There's your false presumption. The thief doesn't need to personally value the work
Click to expand...
But stealing other people's work and making it your own is an art form!

These thieves strongly value their ability to take what they can, and will put great effort into it. The value of their work is not in the photos themselves, but in how they are modified and distributed. And the message is 'take that, onerous copyright laws!'.

Kid Eager said:
Is easy:
- create website to advertise your photography business
- think about whether you want a buy a camera or take photos. Having a camera is entirely optional, because there's lots of stuff on the Internet.
- find photos that you wish you had the skills to produce, and copy these to your computer
- crop out the photographer's watermark and apply your own
- put amended photos on your website
- add stories about the photos. You can either make these up, or copy stories from other photographers' websites - either approach is acceptable.
- create an About Us page, in which you claim experience you don't have. Add in an inspirational backstory that you found on another photographers website, but change the order of the paragraphs.

*PROFIT!!!*
Click to expand...
That actually sounds like quite a bit of work. And considering how easy it is to expose with a simple Google image search, an extremely risky business model. Therefore I suspect that these people don't really do it for profit, but to fight for personal freedom and against the tyranny of our government.

However it is true that businesses do this all the time. The reason you don't notice is that they mostly only rip off product images that have no 'artistic' value. Until recently I worked in a retail business which had an online store. Trying to stop the boss from ripping stuff off other websites was a constant battle.
 
2 things and the fisrt isnt victim blaming but
Any photographer in this day and age that puts unportected high res images on the web is just asking for it. Its like putting 1234 as your password for your network or bank account.


2. Adobe especially, but any photo editing software that cant wont offer some higher level protection that can not be removed should be jsut as much to blame.


Third thing. If you open any image even in teh free version of picassa and look at The i button bottom left corner it gives you the make and model of thwe camera, the settings the date and most importantly the unique id of the camera. (Basically think mac address for each picture using a guid) Which can NOT be removed even if you edit, crop copy and rename the image(i believe it even stays if you change format ala from tiff to jpg).

There are even services that use these ids to find your camera if it was stolen and the theif then posts pictures on the web with it. Www.stolencamerafinder.com is just one.
So it should be pretty easy to prove these people are stealing pics or not.
 
Kid Eager said:
It's not so bad if the story is consumed in small chunks. Skipping over the finer detail, I believe it goes something like this: (PS = Photo Stealers site owner; Billcie = Bill and Stacy, the people who stole the photos)..

  • PS - Here's another photographer who's stolen other's photos and passed then off as their own. Photos and actual owner evidence here, here, here, here, and here. Oh, and they've cut off the watermarks and applied their own. They also appear to be telling their clients that photos A, B, and C are photos of their babies, but are actually photos of somebody else's babies, taken by another photographer entirely.
  • Billsie - No we didn't! Stop trying to wreck our business!
  • PS - Yes you did. More evidence here, here, here and here.
  • Billsie - Lies! Slander! Libel! Badongness! We have teh raw files to prove it!
  • PS - Great - show us the raw files.
  • Billsie - Sod off you bully. They weren't even your photos we stole (oopsie..), but we didn't steal them in any case.
  • A Photographer - Yes, you did steal photos, including one of mine, in fact. Evidence here, here and here.
  • Billsie - Here's a sock puppet account to post on our business website, saying that we're wonderful people.
  • PS - That's a sock puppet account.
  • Billsie - Cyber Bully!!! Waaaah! Libel! Slander! Tervigistation!
  • PS - When are you going to take down the stolen photos?
  • Billsie - You'd better watch out, because we're going to get you.
  • PS - You guys! Crazy talk!
  • Billsie - Contacts employer of poster on PS site and asks them to sack said poster. Threatens employer with mass twitter negative sock puppeting of 1000 accounts if they don't act.
  • Poster and PS - WTF?
  • Billsie - Creates sock puppet facebook account to claim PS said their kids were ugly. So cyber bully, much nasty!
  • Billsie - identifies several of the photographers claiming rights to the stolen photos, create fake negative feedback using more sock accounts on those photographers' business websites. Does same for PS business website.
  • PS and Photographers - Again, WTF?
  • Billsie - Create fake Ripoff Report claims against PS phography business.
  • Billsie - Create Facebook page "Stop Cyber Bullying", calls out PS for eating babies, dismembering kittens, and kicking Pluto out of the solar system. Seeks likes and endorsements. Creates more sock facebook accounts to endorse new facebook page.
  • PS and the Internet - WTF?

Of course, I've glossed over much of the detailed vitriol and bizarreness, but that's kind of the highlights. Don't read the detail if you have an irony sensitivity - you may explode several times.

Story is now being followed on Petapixel, Bullshizer blog, and a thread on Reddit.

(Disclosure - I have no vested interest in the saga, other than being an occasional photographer)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the summary. According to the Tumblr page linked, there was shortly also a lawyer involved, a childhood friend of Stacy's, who removed herself from the frackas when she discovered her friend had been lying to her about the case.

It seems, moreover, that Facebook removed the PhotoStealers FB page.

I wonder why no actual lawyers have been involved yet. Thanks to the RIAA, damages for copyright infringement may run up to $150,000 per case. And trying to sell someone else's artistic creation is quite another ballpark than downloading music for individual consumption. Is it because the actual owner of the photos is from Melbourne, Australia?

And the owner of StopStealingPhotos seems to have cause enough to ask for relief too, having been harassed up to the point that FB removed his pages.
 
Magyar said:
2 things and the fisrt isnt victim blaming but
Any photographer in this day and age that puts unportected high res images on the web is just asking for it. Its like putting 1234 as your password for your network or bank account.
Click to expand...

The bolded is the very definiton of victim blaming. Claiming it isn't doesn't change the fact that it still is.

Also, the problem isn't to find out if the pictures are stolen; Photo Stealer makes sure it's pretty damn sure about it before it puts out a new blog, and I trust that they know all the tricks in the book. The problem in this case is when the photo thieves go to such ridiculous lengths to fight back against the truthful allegations against them.
 
Quick update - the PS facebook page has now been restored, and Billcie's "Stop the Cyber Bullies" page has been banned.
 
Magyar said:
Third thing. If you open any image even in teh free version of picassa and look at The i button bottom left corner it gives you the make and model of thwe camera, the settings the date and most importantly the unique id of the camera. (Basically think mac address for each picture using a guid) Which can NOT be removed even if you edit, crop copy and rename the image(i believe it even stays if you change format ala from tiff to jpg).

There are even services that use these ids to find your camera if it was stolen and the theif then posts pictures on the web with it. Www.stolencamerafinder.com is just one.
So it should be pretty easy to prove these people are stealing pics or not.
Click to expand...

If you're talking about the EXIF data within many pictures, it's easy to remove or alter once you're aware of it.
 
dasmiller said:
If you're talking about the EXIF data within many pictures, it's easy to remove or alter once you're aware of it.
Click to expand...

The other thing to note is that the stealer doesn't need a hi res photo, because it only has to look good on the website. Original hi-res might be 6000x4000 tiff, but web pikky could be 800x600 jpeg.
 
I agree.

PrtScn and crop the desired image out of the screenshot - instant EXIF rewrite. Is that not true?
 
The Norseman said:
You prolly don't want to get on her bad side. Just talk softly while slowly backing away. HTH! :)
Click to expand...

That's it! I'm defamating all of you. Prepare for an army of sockpuppets with nothing but nasty things to say. I have literally NOTHING better to do!!!


:D
 
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