| |
| |
|
Spam Blocker Information |
|
|
|
BUSTED: Anti Spam Forces Bankrupt Super-Spammer Scott Richter
Microsoft scores one for the good guys Scott Richter, the self-proclaimed "Spam King," just can't seem to get enough attention. Admittedly responsible for sending literally billions of Unsolicited Commercial Email messages (UCE), Richter made headlines again recently when his spam-fed cash cow, OptInRealBig.com, filed for bankruptcy protection in U.S. federal court in his home state of Colorado. According to Richter's father (who is also his attorney), "It's the legal fees that are battering the company. OptIn is profitable but for these lawsuits." At the time of its bankruptcy filing, OptInRealBig.com claimed assets of less than $10 million and liabilities of over $50 million. Richter claimed his company made $15 million a year sending more than 15 million email messages per day. However, in 2003, OptInRealBig was dealt a powerful 1-2 punch from Microsoft and Eliot Spitzer, the Attorney General of New York; both sued Richter under local state anti spam laws. Although the New York case was settled out of court last year, Richter has had no such luck dealing with Microsoft, whose claims top $19 million. A Case of Global Amnesia? Richter's company and others like it market products ranging from diet pills to pornography. He's also been accused of using spam to extract personal information from unsuspecting recipients. For instance, one alleged scheme hatched by Richter and his associates promised recipients a copy of a "Girls Gone Wild" DVD if the recipient registered on a website. The registration information was then used to bombard the recipient with more and more spam. Richter contends that his methods are all legal, and that he's just a regular guy trying to do right by the world; he's even gone so far as to claim that he's a "victim" of overzealous anti spam companies and prosecutors. "We don't spam," explained Richter in an August 2004 PC World interview. "The biggest problem is when people get an email that they think they didn't sign up for or don't remember signing up for, and they call it spam." To hear Richter tell it, tens of millions of people simply forgot that they had previously asked to receive his messages. According to the state of New York, however, he falsified header information and used deceptive routing and domain purchase practices in order to get his messages through. The lawsuit also accused Richter of using a network of approximately 500 "zombie" computers to send his messages. When asked how so many users could have subscribed and not remember doing so, Richter claimed the signups must have been via anonymous "partners of our partners" web sites, the names of which slipped his mind. Not Just an Online Threat Evidently not satisfied with stealing bandwidth, Richter also shows a penchant for heavy equipment. In an unrelated 2003 case, he was put on probation after pleading guilty to a felony charge of receiving stolen items worth more than $10,000. According to court records, an informant's tip regarding a stolen Bobcat loader led undercover officers to Richter. Over the course of 13 months, the officers proceeded to strike deals with him for a Honda generator, hundreds of cases of cigarettes, three laptop computers and other items, all offered at suspiciously low prices and purchased in some of Denver's seediest neighborhoods. In addition to probation, Richter was also ordered to pay $38,000 in restitution for the stolen goods. Despite his guilty plea, Richter maintains his innocence, saying he pleaded guilty to the felony charges because it was "easier to be done with it," and he had "too much stuff going on in my life." What's Next for Scott Richter? The 5-year-old OptInRealBig.com, which employed 25 people last year and had 350 clients, will continue to operate under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. While the bankruptcy filing shows the power of legislation and legal action from parties with a vested interest in stopping spam, Richter is not likely to fade quietly into the sunset. Under Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws, the company must follow a court-supervised "debt rehabilitation" plan to pay off creditors, but is not required to modify its business practices. None of OptInRealBig's assets will be liquidated, meaning the company's stable of spam cannons will remain active. The bottom line: Scott Richter will not be required to stop sending UCE in the immediate future, pending ongoing litigation intended to determine exactly what spam is in legal terms. In the meantime, the best defense against spam is a comprehensive gateway solution that will guard against all manner of email threats, especially spammers like Scott Richter. Dr. Paul Judge is a noted scholar and entrepreneur. He is Chief Technology Officer at CipherTrust, the industry's largest provider of enterprise email security. The company's flagship product, IronMail provides a best of breed enterprise anti spam solution designed to stop spam, phishing attacks and other email-based threats. Learn more by visiting http://www.ciphertrust.com/products/spam_and_fraud_protection/ today.
MORE RESOURCES:
WatchGuard Breaks Quarterly Billings, Profit and Units Shipped Records - MarketWatch (press release)
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Ignoring These Tips Could Result in an Inbox Full of Spam Although there still seem to be some differences among the US Government, the lawmakers, the anti-spam organizations and the spammers regarding what is spam and what is not, identifying it is actually pretty easy: if you did not ask for it, you did not sign up on a mailing list related to it, and did not leave your e-mail address on a web form asking for more information on it?it's spam! The spam issue is not about content, but solely about delivery method. The content of spam is and has always been irrelevant. Block Ads, Defeat Pop-Ups, and STOP Page Hijacking You're not alone!Who hasn't surfed the web looking for information only to have their session interrupted by those annoying pop-up windows displaying everything from banner ads to newsletter sign-up's?Though pop-up windows and other methods of influencing a user's online experiences originally had positive intentions, they now seem only to annoy and manipulate users at every turn.For anyone who ever felt extremely irritated by online advertising, the following advice should help. Getting Back To Basics. While we all agree that there`s way too much spamming/junk-mailing going on in our email boxes, there are a couple of things we can do to reduce the amount of mails we actually have to sift through, without having to resort to paying for expensive software that can be a real pain to set up properly. Firstly, and this is a great, little known tip. Internet Tip of the Week: Information Overload We receive so much information on the Internet, especially via email, that many times we have difficulty separating the good "stuff" from the junk. Most of us put unsolicited email (spam) in the junk category. Stuffing the Spammers! I'm really, truly fed up with spam. Every day when the spam arrives and Norton Security moves it into the Norton Anti-spam folder of my Outlook email client, I wonder how anyone can be so incredibly stupid as to waste their time sending me such garbage. Beware Of Spam Withdrawals Q: I am so sick of all the spam that is sent to my business email address. I spend an hour every morning just trying to sort out the good email from the bad. The Trouble With Spam Is.... Each day we all face the same challenge. Spam. What Exactly is Spam? Spam, as defined in the context of computers, the Internet and electronic messaging, is a term used to designate unsolicited bulk electronic messaging and communication. In particular, spam is unsolicited bulk mailings that are commercially oriented. Is Your Website Blacklisted? A blacklist, as the name implies, is a list of people or companies who have met with the disapproval of others. In the online world a blacklist refers to those people who have been marked as responsible for generating spam in a very big way. How to Write a Privacy Policy A Privacy Policy can be defined as the policy under which a company or organization operating a web site handles the personal information collected about visitors to the site. For most of us consumers, privacy involves protecting our integrity and our right to disclose or not our personal information to third parties, without letting anybody bother us with unsolicited communications if we do not want to be contacted. The Definition of Spam Spam can bring down your website faster than a speeding bullet, but what is spam? Originally, spam referred to unwanted emails. We all hate the tons of email we receive day after day trying to get us to buy that or click this. What Is Spam? If you've been around the interenet any length of time then you probably know what spam is. However, if you're new to the internet you might be asking yourself the question "What is Spam?"The best place to begin would be to explain to you exactly what spam mail is. Im Guilty Until Proven Innocent No doubt about it."Spam" (unsolicited commercial email) threatens to paralyze and ultimately destroy the email system as it currently exists on the Internet. The Great Spam Scam: Five Strategies To Stop Brand and Revenue Robbery Marketers usually think of anti-spam tactics as 'how to prevent' readers from perceiving their e-communications as spam. There is another, more sinister, consequence that may affect you. Email Spam and Phishing It seems like the volume of email spam has doubled in the last month. Increasingly, we receive daily emails for better mortgage rates, pharmaceutical discounts, and offers to enlarge body parts we don't even have. I Love Spam! What's the big deal? All you read on the internet is spam, spam, spam. Spam protection this, spam protection that. Beware of the Newest Activity Online: Phishing No. I'm not talking here about the outdoor activity enjoyed by many. How to Avoid Spam Complaints in Your Emails Spam filters are responsible for deleting a high percentage of legitimate business emails from people who have no wish to spam. Here are some tips to avoid spam complaints in your emails or ezine. Evict the Spammers from Your Inbox Block Spam and Other Email Threats From Entering Your Gateway Spam, commonly defined as unsolicited commercial email, is a powerful advertising channel for many products and services. As a result, spamming has become a profitable business, driven by the low cost of sending email compared to other direct marketing techniques. Kill The Messenger (Service) You are familiar with the software applications that you run on your computer, but you may not be familiar with the dozens of programs running in the background on your computer. These programs, called "services" handle tasks like event logging, spooling files to the printer, and networking.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
