CAN-SPAM Act of 2003
FTC SPAM Summit Explores Next Generation of Threats and Solutions
The Federal Trade Commission recently hosted a Spam Summit that focused on the next generation of threats and solutions. The workshop brought together experts from the business, government, and technology sectors, consumer advocates, and academics to explore consumer protection issues surrounding spam, phishing, and malware. “This new generation of malicious spam goes beyond mere annoyance – it can result in significant harm to consumers and undermine the stability of the Internet and email in particular,” remarked FTC Chair Deborah Platt Majoras in her opening comments. “Botnets – networks of hijacked personal computers that spammers use to conceal their identities – have become the preferred method for sending spam,” she observed. She continued, “Even more troubling, spam reaching consumers’ inboxes is more often being used to launch phishing attacks and to deliver malicious code or ‘malware’ to consumers’ computers.”
FTC Spam Summit To Be Held on July 11-12, 2007
The Federal Trade Commission will host a two-day public event, “Spam Summit: The Next Generation of Threats and Solutions,” in Washington, DC on July 11 and 12, 2007. The summit will bring together experts from the business, government, and technology sectors, consumer advocates, and academics to explore consumer protection issues surrounding spam, phishing, and malware. The event is is free and open to the public. It will be held at the FTC’s satellite building conference center, located at 601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC Members of the public and press who wish to participate but who cannot attend can view a live Webcast of the summit on the FTC’s Web site. Pre-registration is not required. For more information, visit the Spam Summit website.
Spam Doubles, Finding New Ways to Deliver Itself
| Title: | Spam Doubles, Finding New Ways to Deliver Itself (ID: CSD4714) | | Author(s): | Brad Stone (Brigham Young University) | | Source: | New York Times | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2006) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | According to spam-filtering company IronPort Systems, spam doubled from last year to this year, now representing more than 90 percent of all e-mail traffic. Much of the increase is attributable to image spam, which quadrupled over the same period of time and now accounts for between 25 and 45 percent of all spam. With image spam, text is converted to graphics, which can be read by individuals who receive them but not by spam filters on the lookout for words and phrases that can identify a message as spam. The recent rise in spam comes after the passage in 2003 of federal legislation intended to limit junk e-mail and a prediction by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates that same year that the problem of spam "will be solved by 2006." | | View this resource: | |
Bogus Spyware Vendors Settle FTC Charges
| Title: | Bogus Spyware Vendors Settle FTC Charges (ID: CSD4385) | | Author(s): | Roy Mark (Internet.com Corporation) | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2006) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | The operators of two supposed antispyware products agreed to pay nearly $2 million to settle complaints by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that the products amounted to nothing more than a scam. Last year, the FTC charged the operators of Spykiller and Spyware Assassin with running similar schemes to defraud consumers. According to the FTC, both companies used pop-up ads and e-mail to draw consumers to the companies' Web sites, where users could supposedly receive free scans of their machines. After the scans reported spyware, which frequently did not exist, users were offered a spyware-removal service for around $30-40. The removal also did not do what was advertised, said the FTC.In addition, many of the e-mail messages violated provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act. The makers of Spyware Assassin agreed to pay $76,000, which represents the amount the FTC spent on its investigation. Makers of Spykiller will pay $1.9 million. | | View this resource: | |
Supreme Court Won't Hear Spam Appeal
| Title: | Supreme Court Won't Hear Spam Appeal (ID: CSD4382) | | Author(s): | Anne Broache (CNET News.com) | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2006) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a case involving the University of Texas (UT) and White Buffalo Ventures, which operates a dating Web site focused on UT students. In 2003, UT officials blocked 59,000 e-mails from LonghornSingles.com, saying that they violated the university's antispam policy. According to officials at the school, the overall volume of spam messages was crippling the institution's servers, and the administration had also received complaints specifically about the LonghornSingles.com e-mails. White Buffalo Ventures had ignored a cease-and-desist letter, prompting the university to block all of its messages. White Buffalo took UT to court, said that its messages complied with all provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act, and argued that the federal law should take precedence over any UT policy. In August, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that argument, saying that the university was within its rights to block the e-mails. | | View this resource: | |
Block That Spam
| Title: | Block That Spam (ID: CSD4143) | | Author(s): | Scott Jaschik | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2005) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | "Like cockroaches, spam may be impossible to defeat completely. But colleges recently won an important tool in their quest to limit spam's intrusions into campus e-mail boxes. A federal appeals court ruled that the First Amendment and a federal law do not limit the ability of a public college to block spam from reaching users' e-mail accounts." | | View this resource: | |
Texas Aims to Snag Spammers
| Title: | Texas Aims to Snag Spammers (ID: CSD3666) | | Origin: | Contributed by Organizations or Campuses (2005) | | Type: | Articles, Papers, and Reports | | Abstract: | The attorney general of Texas has filed a civil lawsuit against two individuals believed to be responsible for millions of illegal e-mail solicitations. Ryan Samuel Pitylak, a student at the University of Texas, and Mark Stephen Trotter of California operate two companies, PayPerAction and Leadplex. Spamhaus.org, a watchdog group that monitors spam, has identified the two companies as being among the top five spam operations worldwide. Prosecutors allege that the e-mails sent by the two companies violate state and federal laws, including the CAN-SPAM Act, by including misleading subject lines and fraudulent information in the body of the messages. The defendants, who are also accused of violating Texas trade practices, face millions of dollars in fines, though no criminal charges were filed against them. An attorney for the defendants said his clients' businesses are in full compliance with all applicable laws, including the CAN-SPAM Act. | | View this resource: | |
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