Content Scrapers and Black Hat SEO

In March 2019, I began to notice an unusual amount of daily traffic to my Google blog. I was accustomed to seeing the Google bots, active on various blog posts, using a host of different IPs, and usually visiting a particular blog post once and maybe twice. Around March 23rd, I began to see 3 IPs that were acting quite unusual in their activity and visiting particular blog posts numerous times in succession, making me think that somebody was stealing my copyrighted images and content.

It was because of that unusual activity that I began searching Google images to see if somebody had stolen my copyrighted images from my blog posts. That was like opening a can of worms and giving me quite the headache. I began finding so many content scraping websites with my copyrighted images and being indexed a bit too high in Google searches. And, many seemed to be hotlinking to my actual images in the Google blog posts!!

Content Scrapers stealing copyrighted content from Julie Ann Brady Google blog

Referring URL of May 22, 2019

I noticed a curious visit from Israel on May 22, 2019 at 1:05am and then I saw the above questionable site showing a referring url to my Google blog. Hmmm!

The internet has become a minefield of non-authentic sites which fancy themselves as content farms "using" other people's original work to capture visits, often tricking unsuspecting visitors. Authenticity is an endangered species, being threatened by greedy, unscrupulous content scrapers. Please do not support these thieves ... when you see "Julie Ann Brady Blog" in the title or description, please be aware of the website you contemplate visiting. I don't recommend that you visit a non-original site with my content. Look for the ORIGINAL, authentic Google Blog, https://jaguarjulie.blogspot.com/ and support my work. Thank you.

DEAR GOOGLE CORPORATION : HELP!
I believe Google search teams pride themselves on getting it right; i.e., knowing the original content and copyrighted images that should be ranked. For sure, a blacklisted url with malware, anasfim, who is ranked high in Google image searches with my image and blog name, should be removed from your searches. And, another content scraper with that same stolen content is attachmax !

Content Scrapers : anasfim and attachmax

DEAR MICROSOFT CORPORATION : HELP!
Reading Safer Web Exploration with Bing, I'm hoping your team will also be able to sort out the content scrapers, particularly the one ranking a bit too high in Google image searches with my image stolen from my Google blog. That site, anasfim, has also been blacklisted and has malware.

Recently I experienced issues with a top blog post of mine on Morton's Neuroma. Somebody submitted a "shocking content" report against that post. A competitor perhaps? Or somebody who had taken my copyrighted images and content to use? Another blog post of mine on Hollohaza Hungarian Porcelain was reported as violating policy. Why?

I have dealt with a number of high profile online sites hosting content thieves who have stolen hundreds of my copyright images and designs to use for their own purposes. It never ends.

CONTENT SCRAPERS WITH MALWARE!!!!!

I just found a website that has stolen my content with my review of Minute Maid Lemonade which set off my anti-virus software!

Website anasfim dot com that stole my blog content and set off my anti-virus software

Website anasfim dot com that stole my blog content and set off my anti-virus software

Website anasfim dot com infected with URL:Blacklist

OMG, and now we have the evidence on the black hat negative seo tactics being employed. Here are more content scrapers I have found with my images and written content!! Doing a Google Image Search for "julie ann brady blog" brings up these images of mine, using my blog posts and link information! Google has indexed the stolen content with my blog name.

Some websites that stole my images and are indexed in Google images

If you look closely at the image directly above, a Google image search brings up 2 images out of 10 linking directly to my Google blog ... the other 8 are content scrapers and pinterest!! All my hard work so that some unscrupulous content scraper can steal it.

I've included a list of content stealing websites below. These websites stole content from the Google blog of Julie Ann Brady. This is the initial list, it is in NO WAY a complete list of content scrapers. It seems like a bad penny, more and more pop up each day!!

Content stealing websites: anasfim.com, attachmax.com, tah-heetch.com, caroleneilson.com, listitdallas.net, flowernifty.com, theurbanwalker.net, bokehcambodia.com, michalschein.com, hasshe.com, litlepups.net, softballkelowna.com, thenewsleekness.com, thegolfclub.info, layout.alimb.us, studiofmp.com, freesongs4u.info, mitchj.info, lonneker.info, muzzikum.info, soggiorno.ayokonseling.com, keywordbasket.com, yousense.info, study5.info, lionelkearns.com, timaylenphotography.com, metanetworks.org

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole my blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

Website that stole Julie Ann Brady blog content

To understand what kind of shenanigans are at play, you might want to read 6 types of negative SEO to watch out for. Learn about the negative effects of link farms, content scraping, and forceful crawling along with some advice on how to stay safe from these unscrupulous competitive attacks.

COPYRIGHT REMOVAL

It is going to be tedious, but it looks like I need to report the content scrapers who stole my images. Google has a form, Report alleged copyright infringement: Web Search. We will be doing this next.

WHAT THE HECK IS PROD UHRS PLAYMSN ??

I noticed a visitor from Halifax, Canada clicking through to my blog post on the Monarch Butterfly, Caterpillar, Pupa and Egg. The entry string was quite strange, showing prod.uhrs.playmsn/judge. Googling that link brought me to a sign in page for UHRS.

Blog visit from prod.uhrs.playmsn dot com /judge/Views/
judge?hitappid=74&mode=judge&toolbar=false&g=1&fromHitApp=1

And, after I clicked on that link to the sign in page for UHRS, I immediately saw another blog visit from Microsoft Azure in Chicago through IP 23.100.232.233. I've written about unusual activity I noted from 3 Microsoft IPs for a two month period of time. Could it be that they were part of this?

WHAT THE HECK IS CLICKWORKER AND MECHANICAL TURK ??

So, is all this most unusual activity on my Google blog connected to UHRS clickworker dot com activities? To understand what that is, as I never heard of such a thing, I was reading an article, Asking Microsoft for fair treatment of UHRS workers.

Oh wow, I noticed an article with a Clickworker Review where a user deleted their account after one day!!!

WTH is Mechanical Turk??? Looking into it a little further, I read an article, Inside Amazon's clickworker platform. Holy smokes, but I've seen Amazon visits regularly to my blog!

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

I first wrote a blog post, Help with the Content Stealers, way back in August 2012! At that time, I was a content writer on Squidoo. I had written hundreds of lenses and was including a phrase on my lenses, "do not copy do not plagiarize the contents of this page." Little good that did. And, now it is nearly 9 years later and content scrapers are more active than ever!

I have also been active for many years on Zazzle sharing my original photography and designs on thousands of cool products. So, now the content thieves were stealing the original designs to sell products on Amazon! Three years ago, in May 2016, I wrote about Amazon Design Theft of Zazzlers Art. I followed that blog post up with two more posts about the never-ending battle to stop the copyright infringements in the Amazon marketplace.

In September 2017, I found a website that had stolen hundreds of my copyrighted photography and images to offer as royalty-free images. Wrong! My blog post, Pinsdaddy Copyright Infringement, touched on the prolific thievery by that website. I heard from many other original artists who discovered that Pinsdaddy had ripped them off as well.

In October 2017, I wrote two blog posts, BlogCatalog Content Scraper and Blogarama Content Scraper. Both of those literally stole entire blog posts of mine, including original images, to feature on their websites and imply that I supported that. I did not support ripping off my entire blog posts to use on their sites.

In January 2019, I discovered something "new" in content thievery! Now, my Zazzle photography and designs were not only appearing in the Amazon marketplace, but also on Walmart! Holy smokes, but I never expected that Walmart would have so many content thieves ... It has changed the way I look at Walmart. My blog post, Copyright Violations on Amazon Walmart Google Shopping, demonstrated how the content stealers had branched out.

So, as you can probably guess, it has been a LONG time on the internet for me when dealing with copyright infringements and content scrapers. Will it ever end? Will Google and Microsoft be able to develop tools to discourage these thieves from continuing their work. Both Google and Microsoft really need to step up to the plate and stop indexing and ranking the thieves above the authentic and original content creators!!! Look for and support the authentic and original content creators. Amen.