randyzak 3600 Report post Posted March 12, 2014 In the last 24 hours, and on two separate occasions, I have personally identified the pics of two well-loved CERB members that have been ripped off and used by scammers posting ads on BP in Ottawa. I have brought this to the attention of both CERB members. Here's one of those instances. As any security professional will tell you, it is impossible to eliminate theft but it is possible to reduce the incidence of it happening to you. So, I encourage you to watermark your pictures to protect your identity. You do not need photoshop or any special graphic design skills to do this! Simply open your pics using the Paint program in Windows, and overlay a transparent text box with your e-mail address, or name and last four digits of your phone number (n.b., keep the original non-watermarked photos handy should you change e-mail or phone number, and have to update that on your photos). Also, I recommend that you place the text somewhere in the middle of the picture, so that a scammer can't easily crop it out from the top, bottom, left or right edge of the image. 7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Liv Waters 52360 Report post Posted March 14, 2014 Thanks for getting this information out there! I don't want to over complicate things, in terms of easy precautions the ladies can take to protect their pictures, such as watermarking, but I thought I'd also mention a con to doing it. Some of my past pics were watermarked. And, just as you suggested, it only makes sense to watermark close to the center of the image or it can be removed. Watermarks can appear as distracting to some who are viewing one's ad...I've had it remarked several times in regards to these past pics of mine that the slight obscuring of the image was of concern.... Just a thought :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
