Can someone please tell me if this is genuine, or a scare tactic. Can this company really prosecute based on this letter? Please help me, since the deadline is fast approaching.

This is the notice I was issued with:


PIRACY IS ILLEGAL
48 Hour Settlement Limit - READ CAREFULLY

Please read the following information very clearly. Your information has already been logged into our database so closing the window may result in legal action. Please read on to find out how to clear your name from legal prosecution.

Case Number: wwz100409
Illegal Device Found: TSRh 3.22 Crack

Bookmark this page right now for future reference and remember your Violation ID so it can be cleared.

Piracy is one of the largest problems in the software industry. If all of our software today was free, then there would be no funding to support the industry. Please do your share and pay for the time that went into providing you with such a valuable service.

Why you are seeing this page - Your information has been stored on our servers because you were detected using an illegal device or unauthorized version of eMail2Pop designed to circumvent our software protections and use our software for free. Because PorkChup Solutions takes a ZERO TOLERANCE policy against piracy, warez, and cracks, eMail2Pop has sent personally identifiable information about you to our servers.

We have logged many items from your computer - including but not limited to your IP address, ISP Information, and Physical and Software System Information. In addition, eMail2Pop may have collected the following - random documents to further identify you, your e-mail address and address book, select e-mails, AOL/Gmail/other account information, and more. You authorized this information collection in the event of a piracy violation through the End User License Agreement.

What PorkChup Solutions will do with your information - Because you have potentially violated federal copyright and civil laws, PorkChup Solutions has the right to take you to trial seeking monetary penalties and jail time. Using the indentifying information already collected, sufficient evidence is available for legal prosecution. However, if necessary, PorkChup Solutions can obtain additional information about you, including personal billing information from your Internet Service Provider. With evidence provided by your ISP and the sensitive identifying information collected by eMail2Pop, PorkChup Solutions has enough information to quickly bring you to justice through domestic and international courts.

We do not want to initiate legal action - It is in PorkChup Solutions' best interest to spend the least amount of resources possible in persuing piracy. We support the piracy education program where companies raise awareness on the severity of software piracy and the damage it does to the economy. Therefore, our goal is only to teach you a lesson and not take legal action against you. To clear your name from prosecution, PorkChup Solutions offers a way for you to redeem yourself by paying for a legitimate copy of eMail2Pop along with a minimal settlement fee, which represents a penalty for piracy.

The settlement fee is $80 which will dismiss you from possible legal action. You will receive a legal one-year license to use eMail2Pop as part of the settlement. Your name will also be removed from the database within six months. As part of the settlement, you agree not to knowingly use illegal software in the future. Should any of these conditions be violated, the settlement can be nullified at our discretion without refund, and legal prosecution may occur. Terms are non-negotiable.

How to Pay: Use the following link to pay: http://www.regsoft.net/purchase.php3...50090&pc=7209W Specify your VIOLATION ID: wwz100409 in the box that says "Suggestions or Comments."
Collections for the settlement fund are processed by an independent, third party company, RegSoft, Inc. To protect settlement privacy, this independent company does not provide us with your credit card information.

What if I refuse to pay?
The goal at PorkChup Solutions is to educate consumers about software piracy. The settlement fee is designed to teach consumers a valuable lesson and allow us to drop any legal charges against you. Remember that piracy is also a civil issue which can be handled by the government. If you refuse the settlement offer, we may prosecute you and/or send your information to the government for prosecution.

Here is an excerpt from the Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org):
If the copyright owner brings a civil action against you, the owner can seek to stop you from using its software immediately and can also request monetary damages. The copyright owner may then choose between actual damages, which includes the amount it has lost because of your infringement as well as any profits attributable to the infringement, and statutory damages, which can be as much as $150,000 for each program copied. In addition, the government can criminally prosecute you for copyright infringement. If convicted, you can be fined up to $250,000, or sentenced to jail for up to five years, or both.

This settlement offer is strictly a voluntary option given to you. In legal terms, you are not required or forced to take this offer. However, taking this offer will excuse you from any legal liability arising out of this violation, provided that there are no subsequent violations or other circumstances that would reopen this case. As stated previously, the goal of this program is to educate violators without using the federal and court systems, but you are free to seek legal advice if you deem necessary.

Can I appeal?
Our technology uses very sophisticated verification techniques, and we have heard many outright lies and rediculous excuses. If you wish to appeal, e-mail our legal department at legal@porkchup.com with your case. Be aware that we have logs of exactly which unauthorized modification you used. If your appeal is rejected due to the use of blatant lies and/or implausible excuses, the settlement fee will increase by $35. Furthermore, rejected appeals can and will be used against you in court. And yes, our records can distinguish between copyright infringements through cracks obtained from piracy websites and modification of eMail2Pop through notepad and other means. All records are manually reviewed before the information is forwarded for legal and/or criminal prosecution.

The settlement offer expires after 48 hours or at the end of the next business day, whichever is later.

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Here is a sample of recorded information:

E-mail Address: @aol.com
others in database

Violation ID: wwz100409

IP Hostname: 137.205.75.161

Time of Violation: 2006-02-06 09:36:55

Hard Disk Numeric ID: -1797025539

To accept the settlement offer, go to http://www.regsoft.net/purchase.php3...50090&pc=7209W Specify your VIOLATION ID: wwz100409 in the box that says "Suggestions or Comments."


PLEASE HELP ME

Christian