In yet another warning to
spammers, a serial junk email sender from the Netherlands was made to
pay a hefty fine for flouting anti-spam laws.
Telecom regulators in the Netherlands slapped a junk email
spammer with a fine of 250,000 Euros. Of the stipulated amount, OPTA
ordered the serial spammer, Reinier Schenkhuizen, to pay 150,000 Euros
for sending junk emails to people and 100,000 Euros for not providing a
way for the recipients to opt-out. OPTA also alleged that Reinier
Schenkhuizen was a ‘persistent spammer’ and sent as many as 21 million
junk emails through a mass mailing website called ADVERTERENisGRATIS.
The portal is owned by Reinier’s firm, Serinco Benelux.
The fine is expected to increase at the rate of 5000 Euros per
day to a maximum of 100,000 Euros till he continues to send spam emails
to people. As a matter of fact, OPTA handed out a warning to Reinier
for indulging in spamming back in March 2005. Since that time, he
received as many as 379 complaints via the official complaint site
called spamklacht.nl. Ultimately, the authorities had to initiate
punitive action against him.
Schenkhuizen, however, has denied all allegations. He, in
fact, told a German Press Agency, DPA that he’s a software developer
who runs a mass mailing site.
Bulk
email senders need to understand that it's not ethical to
send people unsolicited promotional emails. If you do it, the law will
hold you accountable for it and you might end up paying a hefty fine or
even spending some time behind bars. Spamming can only result in the
destruction of your own reputation in the eyes of your customers.
It's not very difficult to send spam email to everyone. But if
your plan is to earn some money and make a name for yourself, you
should try to build a list the right way – the ethical way.
Source:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/28/dutch_spam_fine/
