Spammer fined $100K in New Zealand
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
A New Zealand court has found a man guilty of sending at least two million spam emails about penis-enlargement pills and ordered to pay a hefty fine.
Lance Atkinson, 26, of Pelican Waters in Queensland pleaded guilty last week and was ordered to pay at least $100,000 for his role in the spam email operation pushing products with names like Herbal King, Elite Herbal and Express Herbal.
Atkinson's brother, Shane, and another man named Ronald Smits are contesting the charges in New Zealand and have submitted statements of defense.
"This is a first under the new law and is just reward for the effort put in by our investigators and overseas agencies, particularly the FTC. The negative effects of spam are significant and far reaching and it's pleasing to know there's at least one less spammer plaguing the internet," said Joe Stewart, Internal Affairs' Anti-Spam Compliance Unit Manager.
Atkinson will also face additional spamming charges in the U.S. from the District Court in Illinois, at the urging of the FTC.
Recently, there has been a call by several security groups as well as a government report urging for more policing on the internet to prosecute spammers and cybercriminals.
Related News:
Email filtering still top priority - 3.18.2010
Despite the recent success authorities have enjoyed in shutting down certain major botnets such as Waledac and Mariposa, the BBC recently reported that spam levels have not faltered greatly and the threat of infection from the tainted messages is still very real.
Social networking games profting from malware, moving to iPhone - 3.15.2010
Games like Farmville and Mafia Wars have become increasingly popular on popular social networking sites like Facebook. For users who pay for the service, the threat of malware and spam is minimal. However, those who provide contact information and fill out surveys in exchange for points in the games open themselves up to scareware, spam and other problems.
Web security breaches rock Hotmail - 3.12.2010
Users of Microsoft's free email service are advised by the Redmond, Washington-based software giant to change their passwords and be vigilant as an increase in spam activity on the site has led to web security breaches.
Spam won't go away, but it can be avoided - 3.10.2010
Email filtering works to an extent in ridding computers of spam, but those pesky emails offering millions of dollars for nothing and inexpensive prescription drugs always seem to find a way through even the most stringent filters.
Spammer arrested on extortion charges - 3.9.2010
A California man was arrested and charged with extortion following a threat he made to insurance company New York Life to send spam emails aimed at hurting the company's reputation. Anthony Digati of Chino, California also planned to send spam to the company in hopes of receiving $200,000.
|
