Fighting Spam Through Regulation and Economics

Bryan29 writes ""Next door to our offices was a spam operation... One day they weren't there anymore". Apparently in the past several months some black hat SEO companies (comment spammers) closed shop. Mr. Evron explores using a couple of case studies how spam was directly impacted by the UIGEA online Casinos law, disallowing payment processing, and how the subprime mortgage collapse made many former clients of spammers "move on". The article draws its conclusions from an economic standpoint "Perhaps the next step policy makers should take is to work to change this economy, possibly by legalizing and regulating ... More to the point, they can make the act of processing funds for this type of operation illegal.""

Comments

the only way to defeat spam

[wakim1618]

is through a national health care plan that would provide free penis enlargement, viagra and breast implants to all Americans

Re:This one is better, but no cigar

[spikedvodka]

(*) No one will be able to find the guy or collect the money
(*) Requires too much cooperation from spammers

Specifically, your plan fails to account for

(*) Lack of centrally controlling authority for email The whole point of this plan is that those are wrong. If you can make it illegal for process transactions for things like online casinos, you can make it illegal for things like online pharmacies.

You're not controlling the e-mail, but you're controlling the money. if they can't accept "Visa/MC/AMEX/Discover/Diners/etc." they won't make as much money. paypal is the same way.

Yes, the "mark" could still send a check, but at that point you know exactly where the check went, and you get the copy (electronic) back.

I think this plan has half a chance of working... however, then I think we'll start seeing more phishing... and I really would hate to see more laws