Major ISPs sue mortgage spammersMortgagePress.comCAN-SPAM Act
Four major U.S. Internet service providers are suing more than
220 alleged spammers, including mortgage spammers, responsible for
sending out millions of pieces of unsolicited commercial
e-mail.
Among the six lawsuits, filed in early March by America Online
Inc., EarthLink Inc., Microsoft Corporation and Yahoo! Inc., are
three complaints against mortgage spammers. The defendants are
accused of using illegal tactics, such as deceptive subject lines
and the sale of e-mail addresses. The lawsuits are among the first
filed under the U.S. law Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited
Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM), which went into effect in
January of 2004.
AOL filed a complaint against "John Doe 1 through 40," citing
the transmission of messages to AOL members that allegedly sell a
variety of products, including mortgages. The EarthLink complaint
groups together John Does 26 through 35 as the "mortgage lead
spammers." EarthLink accuses the defendants of hiding their
identities with falsified headers and fake "from" lines, among
other tactics. Yahoo! filed its complaint against a group it calls
the "head operation," after defendants Erick Head, Matthew Head and
Barry Head, alleged that the group sent 94 million e-mail messages
to Yahoo! mail users. The spam included mortgage solicitations.
The companies said that they are confident they can use the
expanded law enforcement tools available under CAN-SPAM to identify
the unnamed defendants and shut them down. The plaintiffs also
think they will be able to use the CAN-SPAM law to bring the
defendants operating outside the United States into U.S. court,
thereby destroying the myth that offshore spammers are
untouchable.
CAN-SPAM co-sponsors Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and Ron Wyden
(D-Ore.) praised the four Internet service providers for filing the
lawsuits. Wyden believes the days of unrestrained spamming are
over, and the integrity of the Internet will finally be restored
after the impact of these lawsuits takes effect.
