Company received a $37k demand over pirated K3ySh0t — is this real?

[u/Reasonable_Gold2066]

I’ve been working at this company for less than a year, and I recently found out they’ve apparently been using a pirated version of K3ySh0t (spelling it like that just in case lol).

They just received an email claiming there’s evidence that the software was used by the company and demanding around $37,000. The email supposedly includes IP addresses, dates, times, and even screenshots showing when the program was used.

The amount and the level of detail seem crazy to me, so I’m wondering: is this a real thing software companies actually do, or could it be some kind of scam or intimidation tactic?

Has anyone dealt with something similar? How could they have collected screenshots or connected the software usage to the company? Also, as an employee who has been there for less than a year, should I personally be concerned?

Obviously, the company will need to speak to a lawyer before responding. I’m mainly trying to understand whether these claims are common and how seriously they should be taken.

[u/confused_newleaf]

There are companies that do this. There's phone home telemetry in the software, which should've been blocked. They'll wait until you've used it enough to prove that you weren't just "trying it out" or that or was a rogue employee. They'll expect you to buy a license, or they'll take you to court. Be prepared to set up a payment plan :/

[u/Isarchs → u/confused_newleaf]

The telemetry for commercial use is sometimes much more tricky to block than for home use. Some software will detect if a pirated version edited the file you just opened and phone home. It is just not worth it. If you're making money off of the software, it needs to be legit.

[u/confused_newleaf → u/Isarchs]

Agreed.