Court Forces Spammers to Cough Up $3.7 Million
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: Court, FTC, Spam, Million | Themes: The Internet
A U.S. district court is forcing a spam group to cough up $3.7 million they collected through fake weight-loss products and human growth hormone pills
An alleged international spam ring--with key players located in Canada and St. Kitts--was ordered by a U.S. district court to give up a whopping $3.7 million racked in by spam emails. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the illegal email drove traffic to websites that offered hoodia gordonii plant extract that claimed to cause significant weight loss, and a "natural human growth hormone enhancer" that supposedly reversed the aging process.
The FTC originally filed the complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, back in October 2007. The complaint included eight defendants--Spear Systems, three corporate defendants, and four individuals. Spear Systems, an individual located in the U.S., and an individual located in Australia settled in May 2008. However, the FTC was unable to reach a settlement with the remaining five defendants who must now answer to the court order.
The FTC's original complaint said that the claims made by the emails were false and unsubstantiated, thus violated the FTC Act and the CAN-SPAM Act. The U.S. Safe Web Act also came into play, a law that enables the FTC to trade information with foreign counterparts, and to protect consumers from internet fraud and cross-border spam; Congress gave the green light to the law back in 2006.
A list of the remaining defendants ordered to pay the $3.7 million can be accessed here.
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I, for one, am not going to shed 1 single tear for these guys. Its time for them to get a REAL job, just so that they can pay back their "earnings" from there illicit job.
It's good to see Spammers brought to justice. In this day and age, I sometimes feel like the are untouchable.
There is an amount of spam I can deal with Just fine. My problem is that some of these guys are down right dirty with little regard for laws and privacy.
Good job (even if it hasn't slowed down the amount of SPAM I receive). I wonder when the post office will begin fighting SNAM (snail-mail SPAM), as I am getting really sick of throwing out a bag of shredded unsolicited offers every month. (Credit cards, student loan refinancing, and mortgage refi/HELOC offers - OH MY!)
good, I hope they cough up a lung, too...
Gett'em !!!
Hoo nloody ray its about time these internet thieves and pirates get there just deserts then shove the spoone down there throut,for good mesures.we need decent internet watch dogs
They should make them go out of business permanently, and give each participant a criminal record!
Spamming is almost equally annoying to stalking.. Punish them hard; that'll teach them a lesson!
I don't think a single person benefits getting mails from a company or mailinglist they did not (want to) subscribe for.
The world would be a better place without spam!
The canned meat "SPAM" is about the only SPAM welcome in this world!
Hoo nloody ray its about time these internet thieves and pirates get there just deserts then shove the spoone down there throut,for good mesures.we need decent internet watch dogs
The Internet doesn't need nor has to operate with watch dogs. Quite the opposite actually.
Hoo nloody ray its about time these internet thieves and pirates get there just deserts then shove the spoone down there throut,for good mesures.we need decent internet watch dogs
Let me guess you're not from around here are you?
One problem though... Does anyone that bought the product get their money back??
Why does everyone fail to see that no consumer will ever see their money back. The government sees it as our loss and their gain..
One problem though... Does anyone that bought the product get their money back??Why does everyone fail to see that no consumer will ever see their money back. The government sees it as our loss and their gain..
Revision: Does anyone that bought the "product" get their money back??