Spam gang nabbed by FTC

A federal judge in Illinois has ordered a halt to the operations of a huge international spam network that peddled prescription drugs and bogus male-enhancement products. The network was identified as the largest spam gang in the world by the anti-spam organization, Spamhaus.

The Federal Trade Commission said it received more than three million complaints about spam messages connected to the operation, and the group may be responsible for sending billions of illegal spam messages. At the request of the FTC, the court issued a temporary injunction prohibiting the defendants from spamming and making false product claims. In addition, the court has frozen the defendants' assets to preserve them for consumer redress pending trial.

Authorities in New Zealand also have taken legal action against the spammers. Two brothers, Shane Atkinson of Christchurch and Lance Atkinson of Pelican Waters, Queensland, Australia, were named in the lawsuits. Roland Smits, also of Christchurch, and Texas resident Jody Smith, were named in the suits as well. Richard Cox, CIO for Spamhaus, praised the FTC and the New Zealand government for their efforts but said he did not know whether the action will put a crimp in the global spam market.

"What we don't know is whether these guys will risk this happening again. The sort of fines they're going to get are going to be small change, relative to the profits they've made," he said. "They can look at a $1 million fine as the cost of doing business."

For more on stopping spam culprits:
 - check out this PcWorld.com article

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