An 86 year old woman, Christine McMillan, received two emails claiming that she could be liable for a fine up to $5,000 for…. pirating Metro 2033? Christine claims that she doesn’t even know what Metro 2033 is and says,

“I found it quite shocking… I’m 86 years old. No one has access to my computer but me. Why would I download a war game?”

Go Public confirms that the E-mails are the real deal. A private company called Canadian Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement (CANIPRE) issued the e-mails through her internet provider claiming that the Grandmother had illegally downloaded Metro 2033, A FPS (First-person shooter) about nuclear war survivors killing mutants, something Christine McMillan isn’t interested in. Her IP address was used to download the video game and even though she does have an adult grandson, she says he does not have access to her computer. Here is what one of the E-mails said:

“Your ISP has forwarded you this notice pursuant to the notice and notice provisions of the Canadian Copyright Act. While we remain agreeable to communicating with you through your ISP: we reserve our right to seek a Norwich order to have you identified should this matter remain unresolved. Canadian courts have recently recognized that: in circumstances involving the illegal infringement of copyrighted works, can be ordered to deliver up the customer information associated with offending IP addresses so that further action can be taken.

If you have questions about your legal rights, you should consult with your own qualified legal counsel. In the event that this matter remains unresolved and or you continue to engage in the unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted works, you could be in violation of the acceptable use policy you may be party to with your ISP. In Canada: you could also be found liable for statutory damages of up to $5,000 or non-statutory damages for copyright infringement: as well as potential damages for unjust enrichment and interference with economic relations. In order to help avoid legal action, we have been authorized by Koch Media to offer you a settlement opportunity that we believe is reasonable for everyone. This notice provides you with the information you require in order to resolve the claimed infringement matter and prevent any and all further legal actions that may be contemplated and relevant under Canadian jurisprudence.

To access the settlement offer for this claim: you have until (date censored)  to visit the provided URL and complete the settlement instructions. If you prefer, you can simply copy and paste or type the URL directly into the Internet browser of your choice. Here, you will gain confidential and private access to all instructions how to complete your settlement payment and receive your executed Settlement Agreement. Please note that your Unique Notice ID forms the URL and corresponds with the Unique Notice ID found at the outset of this notification.”

She was convinced it was just a scam since they did not tell McMillan exactly how much was owed, only that if she didn’t comply she could end up paying up to $5,000 and that she could pay immediately by entering her credit card number. The woman then called her internet provider only to find out that the emails were in fact legitimate and referred her to the federal governments Notice and Notice regulations introduced under the Copyright Modernization Act. If any customer of an internet provider is suspected of illegally downloading things like movies or video games, then they are required to forward copyright infringement notices to said customer.

Video game developers are hiring companies like CANIPRE to collect money for alleged illegal downloads and McMillan had this to say about the debacle:

“It seems to be a very foolish piece of legislation… That somebody can threaten you over the internet… that to me is intimidation and I can’t believe the government would support such an action.”

What do you think about all this? Do you think she is secretly a badass gaming granny like Grandma Shirley? Let us know in the comments below and check back with Don’t Feed the Gamers for all your gaming news.