MS Files Suite Against Spammers Again

5/29/07

Microsoft has launched legal action targeting three parties accused of sending unsolicited commercial email via their Hotmail service. The specific messages were part of a stock pump-and-dump scam.

While Microsoft has determined that three different individuals or organizations are likely behind the scam email, it has yet to determine specific names.

Microsoft has taken similar measures against others who have abused its webmail service in the past. In 2003 and 2004 MS lodged similar lawsuits, the latter making us of the CAN-SPAM act.

Bill Gates is well renowned for proclaiming in 2004 that spam would be solved by the year 2006. So far his company has yet to produce an innovation capable of successfully addressing the problem. Their spam filters for Outlook leave something to be desired to say the least.

The accused in this case apparently sent unsolicited messages promoting the purchase of certain stocks to millions of internet users. The intent is to drive up the price of the stock, creating an opportunity for the perpetrators to make a nice profit. Small stocks can often have their prices manipulated easily due to the relatively small number of total shares on the market and typically low trading volume.

The lawsuits also serve to reinforce the message that spam isn't a victimless crime. When an email provider's services are hijacked for uses the owner doesn't consent to, it's tantamount to theft of services.

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