Am I in trouble? Really weird phone call

I just recieved the most weird and random phone call.

I worked for this company that offered me $10 a shoot to take photos of houses/rooms and they post it on the net and people stay at these houses. I got them to $20 a shoot. Needless to say, I was excited to actually getting paid for taking photos and I accepted.

I went to this house they sent me to and did my thing. Anyway, I sent them to the accomodation website and then posted some of them on THIS website for C&C. (not posting address) and I got paid my $20.

Anyway, 3 months later I get this call from a lady who seemed quite distressed, stating that this company had scammed her out of a lot of money. She stayed at this house that I took the photos for. Anyway, shes got all these lawyers and detectives involved and they tracked down the photos I posted on HERE of the house I took.

Mind you, I am in Sydney, and I assume this forum is mainly an american forum. Anyway, these lawyers managed to track me down and found my phone number and the lady just called me asking about the company who employed me.

Have I done anything wrong? Im a little worried. This company I worked for didnt ask for my tax file number. Have I done the wrong thing in posted them here for C&C?

Did you get her name and number or the name and number of the Detectives??? Is she here in Aust and which state are the Police from that are 'investigating' this????

If you haven't done anything wrong - when the coppers contact you sit down with them and tell them the story and provide them with as much assistance as you can.

Being cooperative goes along way - as for have you done anything wrong based on what you have told us probably not.

But what concerns me is that the woman contacted you - there is no way the coppers would have given her your number and if her lawyer did track you down then they would have called or even sent you a letter first.

Be careful as she may be trying to scam you - do not pay out any money etc if she ask or demands its.

Karl

Thanks, I won't..

The whole phone call kinda blew my mind. Not sure what to think of the whole thing. =\

This is a little random, But by the sounds of it no you havent done anything wrong.

Did she say how she was scammed?

I am guessing her complant will be misrepresentation of the accommodation, She sees a photo of a very nice room and gets put in a different hotel or a different room then she was expecting.

As you did not put the photos online or deal with her accommodation in anyway there is nothing YOU did wrong.

You where paid to take photos of a room you did and there ends your involvement with the photos, what the client used them for dosnt land with you.

Hope you get some answers about what is going on.

Okay. That puts my mind at ease. What about putting the photos up on here for c&c? Could that be seen as invasion of privacy?

^^^ well i guess if she wasnt living there at the time that you took the pictures then it cant be counted as invasion of privacy.

Sounds like this has nothing to do with you and I don't see why they would even involve you.

LucasCK wrote in post #14577524
Okay. That puts my mind at ease. What about putting the photos up on here for c&c? Could that be seen as invasion of privacy?

As long as you didn't break and enter into a house she owned without her permission, then you've done nothing wrong and there isn't any expectation of privacy.

I have to assume that you were contacted because you were the only person they could get in touch with. The lengths that this lady went to are astounding and I'd be blown away too! The only way I see you having to put up with this any more is if there was criminal misconduct on the part of the owners, then you'd need to explain that you were hired in to take photographs to the authorities and that'd be the end of that. For all other issues that fall short of criminal misconduct, I'd tell the lady or her hired goon squad that you were hired to take the photographs, that you have no involvement beyond that, and all further correspondence should be made by her lawyer.

There are a number of accomodation scams on the internet. Quite a few of them for rentals, and sometime home purchases. The possiblity is remote, however it could be that you were in fact (unwittingly) involved if your photos were used as part of the scam.

Legally I don't think there is much that can/could be done against you.

Also, I would be extremely cautious if any mention of ANY sort of payment comes from either this woman or her 'representation', particularly if there is some sort of offer to 'settle' this dispute before they get the law involved.

In another life, and another time I used to frequent 419eater.com where many such scams are outlined, and the purpose is to flush out the criminals and mess with them.

If they do contact you again, and start asking for funds (no matter how small or inconsequential the amount) I would urge you to contact your local authorities to determine the legitimacy of their claims. I would also suggest you visit scamwarners.com to learn more about rental scams.

Here is the link for your information. http://www.scamwarners​.com …0cb3b649e894576​a3b7eda86a

Good luck. PM me if you want more information.

Don't lose any sleep over it, you haven't done anything wrong.

Like mentioned above, they probably just want any contact information you have from the people who hired you. If they paid by check they would want the routing numbers to track the accounts down and find the poeple. You would be surprised how easy is it to find information on people. I would ask all request be submitted in writing from her lawyer along with as much back story as possible. I would then ask your lawyer to review the request. In the US they can summon you to court to testify.

Having been on the receiving end of a few letters and phone calls from attorneys inquiring about "whatever", in my experience, most are not worth the cost of the stamp or toll charges. Most just simply blowing smoke hoping to get results but very few carry any significant weight or legal authority.

In fact, I received a very threatening letter in the mail a few weeks ago from an attorney, pertaining to someone who does a little selling for me. It was in regards to a previous employer who now appears to have misgivings about letting her go.

The letter asked me to provide any and all information I had, was interspersed with words like 'discovery', 'compelled to testify', etc.

When the letter comes from a court, then I'll pay attention. In the meantime:

"Circular file"

ZXDrew wrote in post #14577819
Like mentioned above, they probably just want any contact information you have from the people who hired you.

^^^^This^^^^

First red flag should have been $20 to shoot a house...

Also, I hope you have some proof that you contracted to work with the perpetraitor they are seaking. You might end up looking like the guilty party if the trail ends at you.

You're probably fine though.

If shooting a picture of someones house and putting it on the internet is a crime then Google Maps would have some major legal problems.