First Arrests Made Under 'Can Spam' Act
POSTED: 11:28 a.m. EDT April 29, 2004
WASHINGTON -- Federal authorities are filing the first criminal charges under the government's new anti-spam legislation.
Federal officials have announced the arrest of two men in a landmark case from the Detroit area.
Four people in Detroit have been charged with e-mailing fraudulent sales pitches for weight-loss products. Two of the suspects have not been found.
The cases are the first criminal prosecutions under the government's new "Can Spam"
legislation.
Officials say they received more than 10,000 complaints about unwanted e-mails.
The suspects are accused of disguising their identities in hundreds of thousands of sales pitches and delivering e-mails by bouncing messages through unprotected relay computers on the Internet.
The e-mails were sent out under a variety of company names, including AIT Herbal, Avatar Nutrition and Phoenix Avatar, identified collectively as the Avatar Companies, News.com reported.
Previous Stories:
- March 18, 2004: Legislation Doesn't Lessen Spam Frustration
- March 11, 2004: Four Big ISPs Team Up For Anti-Spam Lawsuits
- March 6, 2004: You've Got Mail? What If You've Got To Pay?
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