Phishers Face Jail Time Under New U.S. Bill

An anonymous reader writes "Democrat Patrick Leahy has introduced a new federal anti-phishing bill that would impose jail terms up to five years and fines up to $250,000 for criminals creating fake web site designed to con consumers in to giving them their personal information. 'Some phishers can be prosecuted under wire fraud or identity theft statutes, but often these prosecutions take place only after someone has been defrauded - that leaves plenty of time to cover their tracks. Traditional wire fraud and identity theft statutes are not sufficient to respond to phishing.' said Leahy in a statement regarding the Anti-Phishing Act of 2005."

Comments

New *Introduced* Bill

[Kainaw]

I'm having a crappy day, so I'm being very cynical. Things like this are getting on my nerves. This bill in introduced. How many bills are introduced each day - about 50? How many get passed on average - about 0? How many phishers are going "Oh my God! There's a bill introduced to Congress that could punish me if it were ever passed but it won't be so it won't ever have any effect on me, therefore I should stop phishing!"

Call me when Congress actually passes a law that isn't immediately overturned by the Supreme Court.