Internet Interests

SPAM Threat Triples

Are you tired of receiving pornographic emails that you didn’t ask for? In fact, are you tired of receiving SPAM email at all? Well, you’re not alone. Millions of Americans resent this invasive form of advertising and it is starting to look as though Americans are about ready to do something about the problem; unfortunately, the solution may mean giving up their email entirely.

Reports to legal authorities have seen a 300% increase over last year in the amount of people who are being scammed by SPAMMERS. Theft by Internet cons cost Americans over $54 million in 2002 with over 48,000 reported incidents. The most common scam used was the “Nigerian letter” which asks victims to send them “bribe money” in exchange for nonexistent government funding. In a scam put forth on e-Bay, Raj Trivedi managed to steal $922,000 by promising to sell nonexistent computer products.

Pending legislation to address the problems associated with SPAM fall far short of providing Americans with effective relief. The currently proposed remedies are hardly more than a slap on the wrist because of their exceptionally timid repercussions and the difficulties in identifying those responsible. Guilty culprits are going to only be asked to pay a token fine and they are not required to serve any time in jail. For SPAMMERS, the trade-off between SPAM results and the fines for abusive SPAM practices is an odds-in-favor gamble of still ending up being able to turn a sizable profit despite the offsetting fines. To make matters even worse, any pending legislation will only apply to U.S. citizens instead of many of those culprits who are sending in SPAM from outside of our nation’s borders.

Several large corporations are currently considering suspending the use of external email until the SPAM crisis is eliminated. The mere fact that this is even being considered as a potential solution to the problem is a clear indication of the animosity with which SPAM is being greeted. Unfortunately, this type of drastic solution sets a bad precedent for the rest of the Internet since, in effect, it allows the SPAMMERS to win by having chased away everyone except for the con-artists and pornography people.

Clearly, the only solution to SPAM, at this time, is to continue to immediately delete these unopened emails as soon as they arrive. Although it is possible to purchase software that filters out many SPAM messages, this is a problem that is going to be with us for a long time to come unless we put forth meaningful legislation and penalties to deal with these perpetrators. Ultimately though, as responsible netizens, it is up to all of us to report illegal activities to the proper authorities and to exercise common sense when handling our email.

Respectfully submitted by Steve Duell
SFBA Chapter Webmaster
ARVP Chapter Internet Development
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