It has come to our attention that scammers are circulating fake emails targeting Kdenlive users and content creators. I suspect this might target Shotcut users as well:
I have receive a couple of e-mails from people who have received some similar advertising solicitations:
Hello Dan. I just received the following email but from a different domain from meltytech.com or shotucut.org
I just want to confirm that is a real person from your company or projects or is it a scam since it’s writing from “shot-cut.space” domain.
Thank you in advance.
De: Shotcut <r.kelley@shot-cut.space>
Enviado el: jueves, 29 de febrero de 2024 21:24
Asunto: Advertising Video Proposal.
Hello! My name is Ruby and I’m the advertising manager for Shotcut.
We would like to offer you cooperation in the form of advertising our app in your YouTube video.
About Shotcut.
Shotcut is an open source multi-track video editor. It can also do audio editing. There are no limitations such as resolution, time, watermark, or extra pay features. It supports up to 8K resolution, and the only watermarks are the ones you add! Also, you are permitted to use it for commercial work.
About Our Offer.
We would love to have a promotional pre-roll at the beginning or middle of your video and a link to our website in the description below the video. As a Shortcut partner, you will also receive an additional cash reward for each person who installs/pays for our program through your referral link.
Please let me know if you are interested in our offer so we can discuss advertising costs and lead times.
Domain Name: SHOT-CUT.SPACE
Registry Domain ID: D436875126-CNIC
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.reg.ru
Registrar URL: https://www.reg.ru/
Updated Date: 2024-02-29T14:11:16.0Z
Creation Date: 2024-02-29T14:11:15.0Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2025-02-28T23:59:59.0Z
Registrar: Registrar of Domain Names REG.RU, LLC
Registrar IANA ID: 1606
Domain Status: serverTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#serverTransferProhibited
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Domain Status: addPeriod https://icann.org/epp#addPeriod
Registrant Organization: Private Person
Registrant State/Province: Moskovskaya oblast
Registrant Country: RU
Registrant Email: Please query the RDDS service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.
Admin Email: Please query the RDDS service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.
Tech Email: Please query the RDDS service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.
Name Server: KLIN.ENS.MAIL.RU
Name Server: MIASS.ENS.MAIL.RU
DNSSEC: unsigned
Billing Email: Please query the RDDS service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@reg.ru
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +7.4955801111
URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: https://www.icann.org/wicf/
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I have received a similar message with the genuine looking shotcut domain, however it’s fake, I reported it, they said they will look into it…
From:- Dan K. Dennedy <danden@shotcut.org>
To:- Arpit Kumar Dutt <my email>
Subject:- Sponsorship Opportunity: Promote
Powerful Video Editing with Shotcut
Dear Arpit Kumar Dutt,
My name is Dan Dennedy, and I'm the lead developer and founder of Shotcut, a free and open-source video editor.
I'm a big admirer of your work on your channel Arpit Kumar Dutt. Your tutorials are easy to understand and helpful, with some funny subtitles that entertain the viewers.
We're reaching out to explore a potential sponsorship opportunity where you could showcase Shotcut's capabilities to your engaged audience.
Why Partner with Shotcut?
* Target Audience Match: Your viewers creating content in the video editing space perfectly align with Shotcut's user base.
* Increased Brand Awareness: A sponsored segment promoting Shotcut in your video would expose your audience to a valuable editing tool while enhancing brand recognition for Shotcut.
* Mutually Beneficial Collaboration: We offer flexible sponsorship packages, including product integration, product placement, or dedicated sponsored segments, depending on your preferences.
We believe a partnership between Shotcut and your channel would be highly beneficial for both parties.
Next Steps
We've attached a media kit with further details about Shotcut and our past collaborations with successful creators.
We'd be delighted to discuss a specific proposal that aligns with your content creation style and audience engagement strategies. Please feel free to schedule a email or message session at your convenience.
Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Dan Dennedy
Lead Developer and Founder
Shotcut Project
Here’s are some videos that might explain the reason, usually it’s email spoofing they might have used a special character:-
The way I identified the scam is because Dan can just PM on the forum itself, I already make videos about shotcut, I don’t need to know about shotcut again if I make videos about it. However, I highly believe this generated by AI because of how perfectly it is written and because it also mentions my subtitles too. Also, why would someone want to advertise to a channel with 70 views and 10 subs.
The media kit they mentioned was just a zip bomb. They also sent a pdf which is actually a exe.
Just double check everything even if it looks real.
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