Category Archives: Unethical Virtual Assistants

December 28, 2009 – 10:00 am

Virtual Assistant Ethics: What Do You Think?

I was contacted last week by the owner of a well-regarded training program for Virtual Assistants. The owner is not a Virtual Assistant themselves, but rather is an expert with an extensive background and expertise in the thing they are teaching (exactly as it should be). It had come to this program owner’s attention via a Google Alert that a new Virtual Assistant training/certification organization was offering a course with the exact same curriculum. What was particularly disturbing to the owner of this well-respected, well-known training program is that:

  1. The listed instructor for the course at the new training organization is a current student of this program owner.
  2. This student/instructor is taking material from this program owner’s course and converting it to hers.
  3. This new training organization is charging $150 per class, so the four class series is priced at $600, almost exactly what the original program owner charges, which would lead people to believe they are getting something of value taught by an expert.

The student-all-of-a-sudden-turned-instructor in question is a new Virtual Assistant with no background or experience in the course she is now teaching. What is also interesting is that the owner of the new training organization has posted in online forums that she would never pay anyone to learn this thing her own training organization is how offering and charging for; she would instead do her own research and teach herself… the underlying sentiment seeming to be that she begrudges anyone charging for training and she presumably thinks they should be doing it for free. Funny how her thinking has miraculously changed now that it is her own pockets the money goes into.

The program owner who contacted me about this is not only disturbed that this Virtual Assistant would take material in this way, but also concerned that unfortunate students won’t realize they are learning from someone who is not an expert, but has only taken a course–in fact, hasn’t even finished it at this point. It appears the owner of the new training program didn’t bother to do any due diligence in hiring this instructor to ensure that students were being provided something of value. One can’t help but wonder what other instructors were indiscriminately hired without any regard to background, qualification or expertise, and whether might they be using another person’s intellectual property as well.

Sadly, this isn’t an isolated incident. I know of several instances where this exact same thing has happened. Besides the dishonesty and stealing, what also bothers me  is seeing new VAs who haven’t achieved any level of success or experience and expertise in their own businesses turning around and selling crap to their colleagues. Why is it, I wonder, they can’t just concentrate on their own businesses? My guess is because it’s not easy growing a business and God forbid they should have to <gasp> actually work hard at anything.

So anyway, this got me to thinking about how much people understand about intellectual property. Even outside of that, are there any basic principles of right and wrong that folks easily identify here? What do you think?

By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged , , | Comments (19)
December 9, 2009 – 1:00 am

Unethical Virtual Assistants: Philippines Call Center

Imagine my surprise to see an article I wrote in 2004 that is well-known throughout our industry published in a release with another person’s name in the byline.

Here is a PDF of the screenshot of the release submitted by one “Johnny Law” from Philippines Call Center which contains just about 100% verbatim content from my article, “How to Succeed in the Virtual Assistant Industry:” http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/infringements/OfficeWire/120909InfringingRelease.pdf

Here is the original link (article has since been removed): http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=50855&catid=93

Here is my original article: http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/howtosucceed.htm

I tell ya, these Philippine agencies are fastly making a very bad name for themselves in our industry. And it’s too  bad because it hurts the reputations of whatever honest, ethical, legitimate Philippines agencies may be out there. Unfortunately, I’ve seen so many stealing other peoples’ content, committing all kinds of infringements and engaging in unethical practices that I don’t trust a single one of them.

I’ve emailed Official Wire and asked for the release to be removed. Hopefully they will honor the request expediently. We shall see. In the meantime, know that the Philippine agency responsible for posting my content is dishonest and unethical. If they engage in unlawful acts such as this, they are not to be trusted in any manner and should be avoided.

UPDATE 12/9/09: I heard back from the Official Wire site owner, Greg Smith. His comment: “Contact the author.” Um, I AM the author. I wonder if this Greg Smith is familiar with the DMCA? He is as liable for publishing unauthorized copyrighted content as the Philippine agency who submitted it and his site can be taken down. Why do these people need to make it so hard? Why can’t they just be honest? I swear.

If I were you, you may want to also avoid Office Wire. I’m not familiar with them, but on closer inspection, it appears that the site may even be one of those spam/scam sites. Most legitimate sites like this will remove infringing content without too much hassle once it is brought to their attention. You have to wonder why one would choose to favor a dishonest company over the rightful owner and author of the stolen content.

UPDATE 12/10/09: Well, this Greg Smith was a total and utter a-hole. Seriously. Which again leads me to believe that his “press release” site is some kind of front for other intentions. In an email exchange, it turns out he is in the U.K. and seemed to believe he was outside of any kind of copyright governances whatsoever. He flat out refused to remove the release and it became quite obvious he has a huge chip on his shoulder about Americans, stating that “you Americans think you rule the world.” So I asked him, since I’m always curious about how on earth some peoples’ minds work, what does being American have to do with expecting people to be honorable and ethical? I asked him why he would choose to cater to a dishonest company that submitted a plagiarized release over the actual author’s request when he could simply remove it? It’s his site after all. He had no response other than some circular argument that he didn’t have to remove it and to contact the author.

With some help from the awesome plagiarism removal expert Jonathan Bailey of Plagiarism Today, we found that OfficeWire.com is hosted by a U.S. company and thus subject to DMCA provisions. I emailed them today and they very quickly took action and the offending release has now been removed from the site. Easy peasy and also saving my IP attorney dollars for more important matters.

I would really love to see you take your practice to an entirely different level in 2010 so you can earn better and stop struggling to find clients. As my gift to you this holiday season, from now until Sunday, Dec. 13, you can get this guide for $47 (a $20 savings).

GDE-38 Understanding Your Value

By Danielle Keister | Tagged | Comments (1)
August 7, 2009 – 10:00 am

Copyright Infringement: Lorean Tuff

Did my regular monthly plagiarism sweep earlier this week and discovered that a Lorean Tuff has taken whole sections of content from my personal business Home page and placed it on her site here: http://www.myownvirtualassistant.com/Home_Page.html

Here’s a PDF of the screenshot taken (note the yellow highlighted parts indicating the infringing use of my copy).

Here’s a PDF of my personal business Home page with the sections she took highlighted in yellow:

Also noticed she had appropriated EA to VA’s graphic and alerted Syndi Craig Hart to that fact as well, which she was none too pleased about.

I placed a call to Ms. Tuff, informing her of the infringement and letting her know that I expected it to be removed immediately. That was two or three days ago and she still has not removed it even though she assured me it would be taken down that day.

I will be having a DMCA filed to take her site down, but in the meantime, you might want to run through her site and see if she’s taken anything from you.

By Danielle Keister | Tagged , , | Comments (15)
May 22, 2009 – 10:49 am

What Would You Do? New Virtual Assistant Uses a Colleague's Business Name

So here’s a sticky situation that is occurring more and more often: A new Virtual Assistant enters the scene and proudly announces her new business name to the world. Problem is, it is identical or nearly identical to the business name of an established Virtual Assistant.

Your business name is an important and valuable asset. It helps creates a unique and distinctive identity of your business in the marketplace. It helps facilitate brand name awareness and word-of mouth advertising. When someone copies your name or uses a derivative, it creates confusion and unfair competition. Whiles registering your tradename affords you the greatest rights and recourse, it’s not the only way to exercise your rights and protect your turf. There are common law protections as well. You do, however, have to actively protect your name or you lose the right to lay claim to it. It therefore becomes necessary for you to keep a vigilant eye open for infringements of this nature.  The eyes and ears of your colleagues can be critical in this effort.

But forget legalities for the moment. Let’s look at this from a moral and ethical standpoint. Sometimes this is difficult, but it becomes less so when you first ask yourself the question: “How would I feel if it were done to me” or “How would I feel if that happened to me?”

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SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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1. Would you be upset if a new Virtual Assistant starting using your business name? Why or why not?

2. If you saw a new Virtual Assistant using a VA friend or colleague’s business name, would you say something to that new Virtual Assistant? Why or why not?

3. Would you let a colleague know if you saw a new Virtual Assistant using their established business name or a close enough derivative of it to be confusing? Why or why not?

By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged , , , | Comments (6)
May 11, 2009 – 11:51 am

Geez, You Practically Have to Bonk Some People Over the Head!

Man, I tell ya… whaddaya gotta do to get through to some people?!

So a new Virtual Assistant registers for our VACOC Peer Networking Club the other day. She meets all the registration criteria, but when her site is checked, turns out she’s using verbatim content taken from my personal business site.

I mean, seriously?! Did ya think no one would notice? And then you try to join the organization of the person you just stole from? Honestly, what is wrong with the brains of these people? It just floors me.

On top of that, before she’s gotten any confirmation or word from us, she’s placed the VACOC logo on her website. Now, of course, I appreciate the idea that she wants to be affiliated with us. But you can’t just go placing logos and membership buttons on your site unless you are, um, an actual member. In what world is does it work like that? In what world is it honest or ethical to mislead site visitors into thinking that you’re an official member when you’re not or have certain official credentials when you don’t?

So I email this Virtual Assistant (who’s of an age and generation that she damn well knows better) and I tell her I realize she’s new to the industry so I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt. I proceed to give her a primer on copyright infringement and content theft. I also explain that she can’t willy nilly place logos on her site without permission, that she isn’t a member yet of our organization and that it isn’t an authorized nor permissible use of our logo. I show her what she needs to take down from her site and ask her to email me when she’s done so that I can put the matter to bed.

Well, I get an email back from her and she’s taken down the VACOC logo, but all she’s done with my content is simply change a few words!

I’m fed up at this point and I just call her. And she answers and I explain (gasp) the concept of plagiarism to her. You can’t steal someone’s content and you certainly can’t just change some words around when you’re caught. That’s exactly what plagiarism is! I inform her that it must be taken down completely and she’s going to have to come up with her own, original content. I again ask her to email me when she’s complied with this.

I get a message back from the plagiarizing Virtual Assistant. She’s taken down the infringing verbiage completely (finally), but here’s her message to me:

“I have read a gazillion sites in the past few weeks getting ideas for my site. Your slogan must have stuck in my mind. I was not aware that I copied it verbatim. I have several operating sites and have found infringement of my copyrighted words, but I take the position that it is a compliment and just let it go.”

It wasn’t a slogan she stole (I don’t have a slogan). It was a whole paragraph of content. And you “remembered” it all, word for exact word, in your head a week later? Yeah, right.

This is what I emailed her back:

“It isn’t a compliment. It is stealing. And it’s illegal. You don’t get to benefit in your marketing from using other peoples’ content.  They developed that content for their own benefit.”

And I should have added that just because she may choose to view it as a compliment, doesn’t mean that I am going to nor that I have to. That’s why they have these laws on the books, dodo brain. I don’t take stealing from me very kindly, especially in view of the fact that I give so freely of all my knowledge to the industry in the first place to help Virtual Assistants build their own equity and collateral.

Oh, and how ironic is this… our guest speaker for this month’s VACOC Guest Expert Teleseminar is Jonathan Bailey of PlagiarismToday.com, LOL. If you’ve ever had your content stolen or want to know what to do if it should happen to you in the future, you’ll definitely want to attend! You can register here: http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/teleseminar.htm

By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Rant & Raves | Tagged , , , | Comments (3)
January 25, 2009 – 8:00 am

Unethical Virtual Assistant: Your Virtual Admin

Here’s another thief who has stolen, verbatim, my home page text: Your Virtual Admin at http://yourvirtualadmin.blogspot.com/

Here’s my site:  http://www.therelief.com.

Here’s a PDF of their blog home page with my stolen content:

http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/infringements/YourVirtualAdmin/012409Home.pdf

This Virtual Assistant’s name is Maria. She was contacted about the infringement to give her a chance to remove it from her blog/site before being posted here. She chose to hang up abruptly.

Here’s a hint, guys. Stealing content from other Virtual Assistants is copyright infringement. It’s against the law and it’s also not a great way to make your introduction into the Virtual Assistant world. It’s even dumber to steal it from an industry leader with a widespread audience.

So take a hint, Maria, if you want to save yourself some grief and possible lawsuits: quit stealing and remove my content from your site immediately. Otherwise, you will be hearing from my intellectual property attorney and once I have to go to that length to get you to do what is right, I go for blood.

By Danielle Keister | Tagged , | Comments (16)
November 30, 2008 – 9:00 am

Laurice L. on oDesk

Does anyone know someone by the name of Laurice L. who is offering her services as a Virtual Assistant on oDesk.com?

She has stolen my “Meet Danielle” text from my personal business site:

If you know this Virtual Assistant or have heard of her, please let me know how to get in touch with her. Thanks.

UPDATE 12/5/08: I emailed oDesk and also posted on their forum about the infringement. A user there flagged the offending account and offered condolences, but I never heard from anyone officially from oDesk. However, when I messaged oDesk earlier this week via Twitter, they said they “were on it.” Received an email today from Stephanie Crull of oDeck who informed me that the offending profile has been deleted from their network. Big thanks to oDesk for their responsiveness (although, it would have been nice to hear from someone directly a little bit sooner).

By Danielle Keister | Tagged | Comments (2)
November 8, 2008 – 12:00 am

Unethical Virtual Assistants: Eva Jane's Professional Remote Office Services

Did a little CopyScaping tonight and found a few thieves, the first of whom is Janie Matthews of Eva Jane’s Professional Remote Office Services at: http://janie.startlogic.com/evajanes/1701.html

This Virtual Assistant stole the entire content from my Home and How It Works pages on my personal business website at www.therelief.com. She also posted the first page of our VACOC Client’s Guide to Virtual Assistants to her blog as if she had written it herself.

1. My Home Page at The Relief Virtual Assistance: http://therelief.com/

Eva Janes Home page (in PDF with stolen content highlighted): http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/infringements/1EvaJanesHomePage.pdf

2. My How It Works page at The Relief Virtual Assistance: http://therelief.com/howitworks.htm

Eva Janes How It Works page (in PDF with stolen content highlighted): http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/infringements/2EvaJanesHowItWorksPage.pdf

3. VACOC Client’s Guide to Virtual Assistants: Benefits of Support page: http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/client-guide.htm

Just Josie Blog post on October 21, 2008: http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/infringements/3JustJosieBlog.pdf

UPDATE 11/8/08: Got ahold of site owner Janie Matthews who hung up on me. Sent a cease & desist by email. She has 24 hours to remove my stolen intellectual property. After that it all goes to my intellectual property attorney in New York (who is a pitbull, I might add).

UPDATE 11/8/08: The email she used on her site of info@evajanes.com actually forwards to a completely different domain. I don’t know if this is one of her clients or an employer. Received an email failure message. Re-submitting cease & desist via her web form.

UPDATE 11/10/08: Web form not working. Called her and this time she was singing a different tune. Says she will delete everything and that she hired a web-designer off Craigslist. Swore she would send me so-called designer’s name and info.

UPDATE 11/10/08: Got an email from infringer and it appears she has taken down all pages. Says she can’t find designer’s contact info but that she will dig around and email me back.

UPDATE 11/14/08: Still no word. I think it’s BS, but I’m holding her to her word. If there IS a so-called web designer scamming people on Craigslist and stealing content from other Virtual Assistants, I want to not only put them on notice, but also warn others.

By Danielle Keister | Tagged , , | Comments (6)
October 28, 2008 – 10:00 am

Plagiarism is Plagiarism is Plagiarism

There is a very troubling, disturbing trend that has been brewing and building in Internet-land. Clients are trying to engage Virtual Assistants in an activity that is unethical and unlawful. What is this activity? It’s plagiarism–otherwise known as copyright infringement.

Here’s what’s going on… there are clients (and these do seem to be most often from the Internet marketing sector) who are taking the works of others (books, articles and other writings) and then asking their Virtual Assistants to reword them (”so as not to plagiarize”) into new articles or reports or whathaveyou which they then intend to put their name on as the author.

Um… HELLOOOO?! That IS plagiarism. Said another way, it’s also making unlawful derivative use from the copyrighted works of others, which is called copyright infringement. It’s theft of intellectual property.

A member recently had a client wanting them to participate in this activity and she wasn’t sure how to handle it. (By the way, I absolutely adore our members–we have some of the most ethical, honorable, reputable Virtual Assistants out there and they refuse to sell their soul just to earn a buck). She asked the client if she had permission from the people whose work was going to be used and the client assured her she did.

But she still didn’t feel right about it. Something about the whole thing still niggled at her. And she was absolutely right not to feel good about it.

Look folks, plagiarism is plagiarism is plagiarism no matter how you dress it up. It’s unethical and it can get you into hot water as well.

If you ever feel funny about engaging in something, don’t second-guess your gut. That is your conscience telling you that something is not right.

Plagiarism IS wrong and any client who wants to engage YOUR business in activity that may not be lawful or that holds possible liability or ethical repercussions had better be prepared to show you the written permissions before you proceed any further. You have your own back, your own reputation, and your own business to look out for.

And really, folks, don’t let clients get away with that crap, or at least refuse to engage in that activity. Ignorance or not, set them straight. It’s absolutely wrong, wrong, wrong, unless they have clear, specific permission from those authors they are making derivative works from.

There are more and more clients out doing this and I think it’s a very sad commentary on society. I’ve even had my “How to Hire a Virtual Assistant” article plagiarized by other Virtual Assistants as well as one or two well-known Internet marketers.

It takes everyone through their own personal actions and choices to ensure that society doesn’t lose its moral compass. It all starts with what we allow people to get away with and whether we act as complicit partners in those wrong activities by not speaking up and saying “no.” If we don’t stand up and say, “Hey, that is wrong and I’m not going to participate,” we are just as guilty.

So hold those clients to task, for your own business protection if nothing else. Ask for those written permissions so you can inspect them and know exactly, firsthand, what licenses are being granted and what isn’t. It’s your right and your obligation as a business.

By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Business Savvy, Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)
June 28, 2008 – 10:00 am

New Category: Unethical Virtual Assistants

I’m starting a new category on my blog here:  Unethical Virtual Assistants.

I think most people are inherently honest. I think others sometimes do wrong things out of ignorance or denial, but if they were made to think about it, they would know in their hearts their actions were wrong, and given the chance will put things to rights.

And then there are those slimeballs who live under rocks and get away with their dishonest, unethical behaviors because no one exposes their actions to the light of day.

I’m not having it anymore.

It’s a pretty damn sad commentary that the only way to get those kind of people’s attention is to expose them. You can’t appeal to their ethics–because they have none. So from now on, here’s what happens when someone steals from me.

They get one chance and one chance only to make things right as soon as they hear from me.

If they make the choice to not make things right, I will be posting their names and website links and screenshots documenting the evidence of their theft for the entire Virtual Assistant and client world to see for themselves (and to anyone reading, you had better check to see if they’ve stolen anything from YOU).

I will also, of course, then be handing everything over to my intellectual property attorney. And trust me, once you force me to go to that kind of trouble, I’m pretty invested in going for your jugular at that point.

If you have been a victim of thievery by colleagues, I encourage you to do the same. Take screenshots documenting their theft. Have your attorney issue a cease and desist and file paperwork to have the offending sites taken down. Go after every penny of prosecution and damages that you may be entitled to.

Maybe then not only will be break this growing cycle of thievery, but we can get back to real honesty and integrity in our industry again.

By Danielle Keister | Also posted in Virtual Assistant/Virtual Assistance | Tagged | Comments (0)