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Lawsuits Against Spammers

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the scum-of-the-earth-eat-me dept.

apc writes "Pretty good overview of the state of the law regarding spammers, and some stories about people who have sued them and won. Nice to see the topic getting mainstream attention." It talks about several different states and several different people who have won cases. I still think its fairly hopeless, but I also believe forging SMTP headers should be legally punishable by castration.

16 of 355 comments (clear)

  1. Check out my latest piece of spam ! by J.D.+Hogg · · Score: 5, Funny
    DEAR FRIEND !

    Tired of not making enough MONEY ? HOW ABOUT $3000 PER WEEK OR MORE !
    No, this is not a joke, YOU TOO CAN QUIT YOUR JOB AND MAKE THE MONEY YOU DESERVE !

    HOW ?

    Very recently, I have discovered that anybody on the internet receives "SPAM" emails, and that it is usuall possible to sue those "SPAMMERS". Most often, "SPAM" originates from VERY LARGE COMPANIES who have a LOT OF MONEY MOST OFTEN, and these companies don't want to lose their reputation in the "SPAM" industry, therefore they are usually willing to give plaintiffs A LOT OF MONEY to settle their claims.

    I CAN ALREADY HEAR YOU SAY "HOW CAN I SUE SPAMMERS TOO AND RECEIVE A LOT OF SETTLEMENT MONEY ?" !

    IF YOU SEND ME A RESPONSE AT THE EMAIL ADDRESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS MESSAGE, I'LL INTRODUCE YOU TO MY NEW BOOK CALLED "HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY SUE SPAMMERS AND RECEIVE A LOT OF SETTLEMENT MONEY". MY BOOK NORMALLY COSTS IN EXCESS OF $85 FROM NORMAL RETAIL CHANNELS, BUT ONLY FOR YOU, I OFFER YOU THIS INCREDIBLE MONEY-MAKING TOOL FOR ONLY $19.99 !!

    DON'T PASS UP YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE THE MONEY YOU DESERVE. SEND ME A RESPONSE RIGHT NOW, OR CALL ME AT THE NUMBER BELOW.

    THANK YOU DEAR FRIEND !

    email: SUCKER_RESPONSE@HOTMAIL.COM
    phone: 1-800-YOU-SUCK

    **********

    THIS IS A ONE-TIME EMAIL, YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO ANYTHING IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO RECEIVE ANYMORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS INCREDIBLE OFFER.

    1. Re:Check out my latest piece of spam ! by InterruptDescriptorT · · Score: 3, Funny

      I didn't believe it for a minute. The grammar and spelling are too good for it to be legitimate. :-)

      ---
      Some say Netware is just like a wheel/ When you abend it, you can't mend it

      --
      Karma: Excellent Birds (mostly as a result of listening to Laurie Anderson)
  2. Ooh, a slashdot story on spam by Paul+Wright · · Score: 5, Funny
    Let me summarise:

    Spam is Free Speaaech (A Troll)

    No it isn't (Baittaker543)
    Yes it is (Anonymous Spammer) 30 post thread snipped
    No more government regulation (aynrand666) All problems have a technical solution. Just hit delete.
    My webserver got RBL'd (warfire) So I've come here to cry instead of ditching my low-file ISP. Your technical solutions are no good.

    I know more than you do (karmawhore23) I am cleverer than you.

  3. Re:"should be punishable by castration" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...or perhaps you aren't funny.

  4. Better yet... by jcr · · Score: 5, Funny

    220 foo.bar.com CASHMAIL System
    HELO
    250 foo.bar.com Hello
    MAIL FROM: mom@aol.com
    667 foo.bar.com accepts payment of 0 cents
    DATA
    ..
    MAIL FROM: unknown_spammer@hotmail.com
    250 unknown_spammer@hotmail.com... Sender ok
    RCPT TO: foo@bar.com
    666 foo@bar.com requires payment of 200 cents
    CASH: 82kd0xma893mcos0
    667 foo.bar.com accepts payment of 200 cents
    DATA
    ...
    MAIL FROM: known_spammer@hotmail.com
    250 known_spammer@hotmail.com... Sender ok
    RCPT TO: foo@bar.com
    666 foo@bar.com requires payment of 1.0e09 cents
    CASH: 82kd0xma893mcos0
    666 foo.bar.com detects fraudulent/forged e-coin. Forwarding to fbi.gov

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  5. Bernard Schifman by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Bernard Schifman may then sue you for trying to sue him for sending spam.

  6. Truth in Advertising approach by coyote-san · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think it's time to apply Truth in Advertising standards to spam.

    You say your product will help me lose weight? We send a rebuttal picture of your naked fat ass to everyone you know.

    You say your product will make my penis gain 3"? We get testimonial from your two mercy fucks about how you need to use this product yourself.

    You say your product will get me hot dates every weekend? We distribute a copy of your busy social calendar - with a note that you were stood up for the sole entry, your Jr. Prom in 1989.

    And lest we forget it, you say your product will net me $50,000 in only 10 weeks? We show your credit card bills, and how even Miss Cleo has cut you off as a deadbeat.

    The best thing of all si that this doesn't really require any new laws. (Well, the suggestions above do, but not the concept.) Don't just nail the spammers with small fines for sending spam, hit them with large fines for fradulant advertising, participation in criminal enterprises, etc.

    --
    For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
  7. Re:The solution to spam. by clark625 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Since there's a sucker born every minute, that gives plenty of "new" customers for the spammers. That's 1,440 potential suckers every single day--or 525,600 per year. And if you can get the typical $19.99 out of each of them, you can get a whopping $10,506,744 of revenue. When you look at numbers like that, you can easily see how spammers (and TV commercials) can continue to annoy the rest of the population.

    The problem with having a "sucker list" is that no one ever thinks he/she is one; and would do everything possible to stay off it. It's very similar to how most people believe they have an above average IQ. Nevermind the fact that most people can't be above average. A lot of people simply don't think of themselves as suckers.

    Anyways, I need to go buy that new Igia ElectoSage 8. Have you seen it? It looks absolutely amazing! I'm gonna lose lots of weight with this thing--all without getting off my butt. Schweet!

    --
    Long, cute, or funny Sigs are just another form of over compensation, used by geeks, nerdz, etc.
  8. Sexist Punishment... by toupsie · · Score: 2, Funny
    but I also believe forging SMTP headers should be legally punishable by castration.

    So what you are saying is that only men can be punished for SPAMMING in your mind? I am sure there are women SPAMMING out there too! What part of their anatomy are you going to cut off? The National Organization for Women would like to know...

    --
    Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
  9. Since congress likes free speech so much... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Start forwarding all the spam to Congress.

  10. Re:Wrong by CaptainSuperBoy · · Score: 3, Funny

    Well, thanks for backing up your statements with all those statistics. Since you've pointed to studies, news articles, and online discussions backing up your facts I feel confident believing your statement that most companies spam from a shadowy data haven outside of the reach of law.

    Of course, if you had said that my spam comes from some crazy island in the Pacific without backing up that statement with ANY FACT WHATSOEVER, I wouldn't believe you. Oh wait.. You don't have any proof to back up your statements. Never mind.

  11. Re:another tactic? by subbuk · · Score: 3, Funny

    >We could add something like (not real numbers):
    >>>> MAIL From: 250 ... Sender untrusted, please
    >give prime factor of 34576184516935692342934759132
    >to continue

    >Personally, I do not know the feasibility of this
    >angle, although I am sure some expert with be
    >willing to point out the flaws.

    Flaws like the fact that 2 suffices in the example? Too good to pass up :)

  12. Re:another tactic? by br0ck · · Score: 2, Funny

    Maybe this is a crazy idea, but could we have them compute a block for distributed.net or SETI@home? Two birds, one boulder..

  13. Full text of Cerasale interview by TekPolitik · · Score: 4, Funny
    "If you ban me from this type of medium, you have severely limited my ability to enter into the marketplace," said Jerry Cerasale of the Direct Marketing Association.

    This is revealing, however the real text of the interview is more so:

    Interviewer: I'm calling regarding Congressional action on spam.

    Jerry Cerasale: If you ban me from this type of medium, you have severely limited my ability to enter into the marketplace.

    I: But surely with all the ads for porn, casinos and viagra substitutes that you'd be competing with, it's not going to be of any use to you anyway.

    JC: You're not listening. I said if you ban me from entering the marketplace. You can ban everybody else.

    I: So you're saying you want to ban everybody except Jerry Cerasale from using spam?

    JC: No, I want to ban unethical marketers from using spam.

    I: How do you define unethical marketers?

    JC: They're the ones that forge stuff and won't honor remove requests.

    I: So won't they just start following that law and you'll still have the volume problem?

    JC: No, because they're unethical marketers.

    I: So who are the ethical marketers

    JC: They're the DMA members

    I: So if the unethical marketers join the DMA do they become ethical marketers?

    JC: Of course.

    I: Even if they still forge and don't honor remove requests?

    JC: Yes. If they join the DMA, then what they are doing is ethical marketing.

    I: Surely all the spammers will just join the DMA then and they can all spam.

    JC: That's OK.

    I: But then won't email be useless for everybody because of the volume? After all, there's got to be hundred of millions of potential marketers out there who might want to use it.

    JC: Yes.

    I: So you're opposed to laws that will make spam unusable for marketing?

    JC: Yes.

    I: But you realise that if the laws aren't passed, spam will be unusable for anything.

    JC: Yes.

    I: Including marketing.

    JC: Yes.

    I: So really your opposition to laws banning spam achieves nothing to protect it for marketing, and just succeeds in destroying it for everybody.

    JC: That's right - if me and my DMA buddie's can't use it for our purposes, then nobody can use it for any purposes.

    I: Isn't that a little childish.

    JC: Well since they won't play by my rules I would take by bat and ball and go home, but I don't own the bat or the ball, so the only way I can stop them from playing is by destroying the bat and the ball.

    I: Mr Cerasale, thank-you for your time.

    JC: My pleasure.

  14. Joke by Legion303 · · Score: 3, Funny
    Here's the joke:

    "If you ban me from this type of medium, you have severely limited my ability to enter into the marketplace," said Jerry Cerasale of the Direct Marketing Association.

    Here's the punchline:

    Jerry Cerasale
    Direct Marketing Association
    Washington Office
    1111 19th St NW
    Washington, DC 20036
    UNITED STATES
    phone: (202)955-5030
    fax: (202)955-0085
    web: http://www.the-dma.org

    Contact List by Subject
    Accounts Payable
    webmaster@the-dma.org 212.768.7277, ext. 1353
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    consumer@the-dma.org 212.790.1488
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    dmef@the-dma.org 212.768.7277, ext. 1817
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    webmaster@the-dma.org 212.768.7277, ext. 1629

    Since he considers spam a legitimate business practice, make sure you forward all your "HOT WET PUSSY!" emails to him so he doesn't miss out on any great deals.

    -Legion

  15. What do they eat? by jabapi · · Score: 2, Funny

    Do those spammers eat SPAM while in prison?

    Just wondering...