Spam Laws Protect Consumers Against Unsolicited Information
In an email, on our mobile phone, in social networking sites, through instant messaging, or in a newsgroup or forum, spam has the potential to invade our daily interactions. Spam is the use of the Internet or other electronic messaging system to send unsolicited bulk messages, advertisements, promotions, or information. While these messages may be annoying and harmless, spam also has a dangerous side. Messages that appear to be legitimate could actually be spreading malicious software or computer viruses, or be an attempt to gain information to commit identity theft or fraud. In 2010 alone, the Internet Crime Complaint Center received 303,809 complaints about online scams, the second highest number of complaints in one year since the agency’s inception in 2000. According to a Federal Trade Commission report, spam has become a major global problem, leading to identity theft and financial crime. As such, federal and state spam laws have been established, along with federal and local alliances, to develop strategies to fight and prevent spam schemes.
Types of Spam Schemes
Although there are many different types of spam, the most common originate from email. A spammer may “phish“ for personal information by sending an email that looks like its from a legitimate company you do business with, or “spoof” the originator of an email message so it looks like it was sent from someone the recipient knows and therefore more likely to be opened and read. The Federal Trade Commission reports that over one million IP addresses are directing spam and computer virus attacks every day. The latest report from the Internet Crime Complaint Center identifies the following as the top Internet scams: lotteries; auction fraud; credit card fraud; employment/business opportunity; counterfeit cashier’s check; escrow services fraud; parcel courier email scheme; debt elimination; third party receiver of funds; letter from a foreign company seeking help in depositing funds; and investment fraud. Services such as credit monitoring from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian have arose to help spot fraud.
Spammers Tap Technology To Create Schemes
While emerging technologies have improved our quality of life and the way we conduct business, it also has made it possible for spammers to use creative ways to tap into our personal information and commit fraud, identity theft, or other criminal acts. It used to be that law enforcement officials could track illegal spamming activity through traceable computer scripts. But now, spammers are using technology advancements, such as malicious bots, key-logger software that records and reports every keystroke made, and harvesting email addresses from public areas on the Internet, all while concealing their identities. As law enforcement officials point out, malicious spam schemes are constantly changing, so it’s difficult to measure its effects.
Federal and State Laws Target Spammers
When an individual or company becomes a victim of spam, it can be a very time-consuming and costly process to identify the problem and rectify it. The extent of spamming, not only in the U.S. but worldwide, has led federal and state lawmakers to enact measures that make spam schemes illegal. For example, the Federal Trade Commission Act prohibits unfair and deceptive practices, such as phishing, while the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires financial institutions to protects consumers’ personal and sensitive financial information. The U.S. Congress also passed an Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act which makes identity theft a federal crime. ID theft protection services have arose to fight this crime.
More encompassing is the federal Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM), which protects consumers’ rights concerning unsolicited commercial advertisements. Among them are opt-out functions and measures against sexually-explicit spam. The law also prohibits deceptive emails. In addition, federal government agencies have created spam-focused initiatives, such as the FBI’s Slam-Spam Initiative, the Department of Justice’s Operation Botroast and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s international Operation Gold Phish.
On the local level, a number of states have passed their own laws that make it easier for law enforcement to fight spam. Many states have anti-spam laws regarding unsolicited email advertising and several have laws against bulk email and using an Internet addresses of a third party without their permission. State and federal law enforcement agencies are also active in partnering with the private sector and nonprofit organizations to address and prevent spam and other cyber crimes in real time.
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