New Zealanders Hammered with Junk on Eve of Spam Law

08/31/07

Internet users in New Zealand are finding themselves slammed by last-minute spam campaigns launched just before a new anti-spam law comes into effect.

New Zealand's Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill law is one of only a handful that really attempts to make any and all unsolicited commercial email illegal.

As a result, organizations large and small are mailing customers begging them to opt-in. If they don't, they won't be able to legally send them messages after September 5th, 2007 - when the law takes effect. Some organizations are even tempting recipients with potential prizes if they agree to continue receiving solicitations.

Unfortunately for New Zealanders, it would seem that the law would only impact a certain percentage of spam. While I'm not sure if it tries to make spam sent from foreign countries illegal, even if it does - it would likely be unenforceable. Spammers based outside the country are probably not even be aware if the parties they're emailing reside within New Zealand.

For that matter, legal attacks on UCE have generally proven ineffective. While there have been a few spam related convictions - their main effect has been to inspire spammers to create new, more elusive ways to distribute their advertising.

For example, mass email senders are now more likely to employ large networks of hacked computers as opposed to using a single, easily traceable server. This new development has also challenged the effectiveness of tools relying on DNS blacklists to get rid of spam.

Ruthless spammers targeting the country may move their operations outside to avoid being prosecuted. Doing so is quite easy considering the large variety of internet co-location services available throughout the world.

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