Scammers and Photo Thiefs

A hot topic in the forums right now is about scammers and photo stealing. The general consensus is that they are young, pre-teen or at least young teens, and have absolutely no common sense about using what doesn't belong to them. I have a feeling this is going to be a common occurrence. Kids are being given this amazing device--a computer-- and they are suddenly finding the freedom that comes with the internet. Yet at the same time, I don't think their parents have been teaching them about copyright and that not everything on the internet is free. So they find a photo of something they like, and put it up on their website. Facebook seems to be the favorite hunting ground for this.
These cases are usually harmless, and the kids will be scared off by a couple warnings/threats (legal ones, of course, not physical!) about using photos that don't belong to them.

What worries me more are the scammers. High school, college-aged kids who have figured out a sly way to get "free" horses. Illegally borrowing photos from really good customizers, calling them their own work, and convincing others (probably younger girls) to "trade" them. Well, the innocent horse goes through the mail, and the customized horse is never to be found. Why? Because they never owned them in the first place. If the person didn't get caught in a month, say, imagine the damage they would wreak among the young collectors. They could gather quite a bounty of "free" horses in that time.

This irritates me. When I was six, an older friend convinced me that if I copied a book in my own handwriting, I could claim I was the one who wrote it. Well, my mother didn't exactly see the same way, and I learned right then and there that copying things that didn't belong to me was wrong. Who are these parents that raise their children to not know these things?!

Moral check: Taking something that doesn't belong to you, without permission, is stealing. This is wrong!

Am I worried about having my photos stolen and used by little girls wishing they had that horse? No. I grew up with a younger sister, and learned that this is a sign of flattery. It is irritating, yes, but not harmful. Am I worried about the scammers? Myself, I don't buy from anyone I haven't dealt with before. And that first dealing is usually a small one, so if I do get scammed, it's not as bad. And I don't create masterpieces of customized horses, so no worries there.

However, I have several friends in the model horse hobby that I will defend in cases such as this. If you steal their photos, or try to scam someone using said photos, I will not be your favorite person.

Thankfully, most of the women in this hobby have each others back, so I'm not very worried about the thieving.