In a demonstration of
cross-border cooperation on the anti-spam front, regulators in the US,
New Zealand and Australia come together to penalize the 'world’s
biggest spammer'.
US authorities recently fined Lance Atkinson, considered by
many to be the
world’s
biggest spammer, $16 million for being the brains behind the
largest spam operation to date. It is believed that Atkinson and his
associates
were capable of sending over 10 billion emails a day to Internet users
across
the world. These emails invariably linked to websites that would sell
prescription
drugs and other fraudulent weight-loss and ‘enhancement’ pills.
Most recently, Atkinson was summoned to a Brisbane court after
the Australian
Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that he had violated
the country’s
anti-spam
laws. The ACMA claimed it received over 100,000 email spam
complaints
from users about emails that originated from Atkinson. Earlier, a New
Zealand
court had also fined Atkinson $100,000 for his spamming misadventures.
These fines and penalties highlight coordinated efforts by
regulators, the
world over, to deter more people from going down dark spamming alleys.
While
deterrence may not always stop more Lance Atkinsons from popping up,
these
are important steps that will set a precedent for more anti-spam
violations
that may come up in the future.
As an Internet marketer, you need to make sure that you play
by the rules.
Don’t send unsolicited mail, never buy email
lists and consistently work
toward building a high-quality opt-in email list. In addition, make
sure you
give recipients the choice to opt out from your email list, should
their preferences
change in the future.
As a leading provider of email marketing services, Benchmark
Email gives you
all the tools you need, not only to execute a successful email
campaign, but
also stay on the right side of the law, always.
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/security/spam-mastermind-faces-court-20091216-kwe3.html
