MercuryNews.com | 05/12/2005 | Worldwide `spam gang’ is shut down: “Worldwide `spam gang’ is shut down
MICROSOFT AIDED PROBE BY MASSACHUSETTS OFFICIALS
By John Boudreau
Mercury News
A Massachusetts judge Wednesday ordered what authorities are calling one of the world’s largest “spam gangs” to shut down.
The move followed a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, which alleges the operation broke the federal anti-spam law, “CAN-SPAM,” enacted in 2003.
The nine-month investigation, which was assisted by Microsoft, uncovered a worldwide operation that sends out hundreds of millions of illegal spam pitches a month, as well as advertising for fraudulent products, said Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly.
It was another example of Microsoft teaming up with law enforcement to crack down on illegal e-mail activities, which Microsoft sees as a threat to consumer confidence in its products. Spam accounts for at least 50 percent of e-mail, by some estimates.
The targeted organization is “one of the largest spam gangs in this country, if not the world,” Reilly said.”
