New tech scam extorts money, accuses users of stealing porn

Those Nigerian princes have nothin' on the lawyers of Davenport Lyons, a British outfit which is threatening to sue UK residents by sending "pre-settlement letters," much like the RIAA uses to get accused music file sharers to pay up. The twist? Davenport Lyons says it represents the interests of a group of German pornographers, or at least a company (called DigiProtect) which owns the right to a grand total of two such films (plus assorted other digital content).

According to the Guardian, some 25,000 people have received letters from Davenport Lyons, demanding payments of roughly 500 pounds (about $770) each. Hundreds of people have claimed innocence in these cases, with numerous letter recipients complaining that they wouldn't even know how to download movies, and if they did it certainly wouldn't be gay German pornographic fillms.

Kudos to Michael Coyle, a solicitor helping letter recipients fight the claims of Davenport Lyons: For 50 pounds he helps consumers respond legally against these strongarm tactics. To date, Davenport's only real successes have come in cases where no one showed up in court to defend themselves.... but five-figure judgments certainly get people scared and interested in settling, which is precisely the point.

Done right, legal threats are huge business: The Guardian piece notes that, if all 25,000 letter recipients paid the requested fees, the law firm would net more than 12.5 million pounds for its trouble... a far more lucrative line of work than making those movies in the first place.