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Spammers Sue Anti-Spam Groups
Posted by
timothy
on Wed Apr 23, 2003 12:40 PM
from the slither-together-or-slither-separately dept.
from the slither-together-or-slither-separately dept.
SuperBanana writes "The Register reports in a story today that spammers have banded together under the name EmarketersAmerica.org to sue various anti-spam groups- days before a large conference on spam hosted by the FTC(which will be attended by many spammers). Anti-spam groups think the timing is not by coincidence, but believe the move may backfire because they will be able to countersue and get access to spammer's internal documents. By the way, if you're wondering who these guys are, check out Spamhaus's directory of top spammers."
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This is what should happen to all spammers.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Elliott Harris, Chicago Sun-Times: "A fan in Massachusetts, upset at Fox's decision to replace auto racing with Red Sox baseball, faces the possibility of a year in jail for sending more than 530,000 e-mails that shut down Fox's Web site in 2001. Hey, who knew a NASCAR fan would know spam was anything other than something to eat?"
Re:This is what should happen to all spammers.... (Score:4, Funny)
Damn Yankees fans, I swear ...
Parent
Random nonsense (Score:5, Insightful)
We know which companies sell their email listings, right?
More than a few of us can write a script...
A clandestine server running in an undisclosed location--perhaps a public wireless hotspot--can go forever properly filling out the forms of these companies with complete and total gibberish.
It won't crash servers... nobody will even know until it's pretty much too late and the offended databases are loaded with utter garbage.
Recently, I wrote about passively doing this to spambots [cyberista.com]. I keep the page [cyberista.com] on the server for good measure.
My tech articles are geared to a nontech audience so don't give me crap if they sound lame. I don't preach to the choir except when hanging out at Slashdot.
That said, I don't see why this concept can't be expanded. They have no defense against form scripts.
Parent
Theyve banded together???? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:They've banded together???? (Score:3, Funny)
The irony is just sickening (Score:5, Funny)
Dear Customer,
Please key in the password you see displayed to the right in order to obtain the information you requested from our WHOIS database.
In order to protect the privacy of our customers, Go Daddy Software has implemented a process that prevents unscrupulous spammers from running scripts that acquire email addresses from our WHOIS service (which in accordance with ICANN policy must be made available to the public). The password you see is provided in graphic format and cannot be read by a script. Only humans can read it. By taking a moment to key in the password you are doing your part to eliminate SPAM.
Parent
mefels@aol.com (Score:4, Funny)
mefels@aol.com [mailto]
Parent
Broken link (Score:4, Informative)
emarketersamerica.org [emarketersamerica.org]
Are they 'leveraging their synergy'? (Score:5, Funny)
A group of Florida-based porn peddlers, penis enlargement and Viagra spammers has united to file suit against anti-spam organisations.
Given their similar, uhhh, subject matter, I guess it makes sense they would eventually form a union of some kind.
(I meant union as in 'coalition' or similar, not any other kind. Probably best not to think too much about that one. D'oh.)
Re:Are they 'leveraging their synergy'? (Score:4, Funny)
>I guess it makes sense they would eventually form a union of some kind.
I'd much rather they formed an aggregate, were sealed in glass, then placed in a deep tunnel in a remote mountain.
Let future generations worry about the "ethics" of such a punishment.
Parent
Re:Spammers Sue Anti-Spam Groups (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Spammers Sue Anti-Spam Groups (Score:5, Interesting)
It just goes to show how a few incredibly selfish individuals can bring chaos and ruin to society. It obviously does not take many to bring huge costs to business and government, so why is it so hard to prosecute these few individuals for abuse of the internet and indirect theft from business and government (taxpayer) coffers, especially if they are known?
Parent
Jerks (Score:3, Funny)
eMarketersAmerica, more like eMarketersNigeria
Re:Jerks (Score:5, Funny)
Hey, look, there IS still one guy who thinks the US is held in any regard worldwide. Damn, now I owe my buddy a beer.
Parent
Contact? (Score:3, Funny)
What will be next? (Score:5, Funny)
Drug users suing dealers?
Smokers suing tobacco compani.... Oh.
Actual text of the filing in flordia (Score:5, Informative)
(Spread out which ones you use, these are alot of folks with home machines on DSL lines. Being
http://ares.penguinhosting.net/~leftreveggplant
http://chickenboner.com/felstei
http://cjllewellyn.homeip.net/slapp.p
http://home.earthlink.net/~bbay/slapp.pdf
htt
http://members.co
http://members.shaw.ca/wooly
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/egplant/
http://SteveSobol.com/slapp.pdf
http:/
http://www.b
http://www.conmicro.cx/slapp.pdf
http:/
http://www.ge
http://www.linxnet.com/misc/spam
http://www.north-lincolnshire.com/slap
http://www.pearlgates.net/nanae/slapp.pdf
http://www.t
http://www.tirani.net
There's also been some lively discussion on NANAE about this issue....
Anybody feel like... (Score:3, Insightful)
Assuming there are such, as it's currently being hit with a DoS. I think it's the first time a website has deserved a /.'ing.
Hah (Score:4, Funny)
Of course, for once, we'll see the Slashdot Effect put to good use.
Re:Hah (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe not now, but just wait until this story is posted three more times.
Parent
FYI- link to the PDF of the lawsuit (Score:5, Interesting)
I found out about this from a friend(Hi Scott!) after I submitted the article. He put it best:
"It is classic... misspellings, copy + paste problems...He named rediculous people as defendents, including the brother of one anti spammer, who apparently lives in Italy and doesn't care about spam at all."
http://chickenboner.com/felstein/slapp.pdf
hmm... (Score:4, Funny)
Can we bomb them, Oh please can we bomb them ?
Important Tip (Score:3, Funny)
Offshore? (Score:3, Funny)
google cahche of spamhaus' list (Score:4, Informative)
What if we just stopped using the email protocol? (Score:3, Interesting)
Let's say we ditched the email concept, and messaging just involved people going to eachothers websites and dropping a note via webform. To reply, you simply click the link back to the senders message webform etc...
Then to ensure we don't have web crawling bots auto submitting spam through the forms, you add a dynamically created GIF/jpeg file with a 5 letter code embedded that the subitter needs to type for the form to submit.
Then, problem solved no? Christ the email protocol we've been using for the last 20years is ready for the shitter in my opinion.
--Zuchini
judicial spam (Score:3, Funny)
Keeping courts busy with unnecessary and pointless lawsuits, thus blocking "real" and important cases and wasting resources is its own form of spam: judicial spam!
Spamhaus slashdotted already (Score:5, Interesting)
What's really amazing isn't that spammers continue to spam but that they continue to find people who are willing to pay them to do so. Have you ever read what an email marketer considers fair results? 2% of the emails you buy will be viewed (viewed meaning that someone actually generated an http request based on the HTML inside). How do they guarantee this? If they fall short, they will
This is an amazing comment on the ineffectiveness of spam. More than 98% of all spam messages are deleted unseen (or bounced). Of the remaining 2%, some of those were only "viewed" in the sense that they had active focus when the receiver hit delete. Of those that generate actual click-through, how many generate sales?
How stupid does someone have to be to buy an "email marketing campaign?" One could get better results by sending your $1000 to a local charity and putting out a press release.
Spam --- built on ignorance and stupidity.
Re:Spamhaus slashdotted already (Score:5, Insightful)
- This is an amazing comment on the ineffectiveness of spam.
Only if you don't complete the math. I haven't priced a spam-campaign, personally, but I have seen adverts for software you can "run from home" that retail for as little $75.So let's play a numbers game. Let's suppose I want to sell narfing-irons. I can manufacture them cheaply in India, so I have a good supply, and can make a 60% profit if I sell them for $35 a pair. I want to use a spam campaign, because I know how effective they are. I buy a service for $350, and they will send spam out to 4 million addresses. Just 2% will result in page views. That's 80,000 hits. Let's assume we get a sales rate of .5%. That's right, one-half of one percent. That's 400 sales. Or, total revenues of $14,000. Around $8000 of that is profit, from which my $350 spam-campaign is taken.
And that was only one run of spam. If I run, say, 10 or 12 campaigns from different services, with similar rates of return, my narfing-iron business will net me in the vicinity of $80K-$100K in profit from Internet-based sales alone. And I didn't lift a finger, other than to ship the product.
NOW do you see where they get people who will pay for this service?
Parent
paradoxical question (Score:4, Funny)
Re:paradoxical question (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Yeah right (Score:3, Interesting)
Allright the blacklisting is allright because the user is requesting those sites to be blacklisted. Don't know about invasion of privacy (probably publishing the names and addresses), publication of false information (isn't that libel?). Finally "intentionally interference with a contract".(well at least it's spammer english:) there was never any contract in the first place and is just the user trying to avoid harassment. I'll be very surprised if this goes anywhere then again we may not have the whole story, remember the register isn't exactly an impartial newssource.
Recidivist Spammers (Score:5, Funny)
So... who's got 1,800 feet of rope and an orchard to spare?
spammer conference? (Score:3, Funny)
Now where's some of that Iraqi nerve agent when we need it?
Want someone to complain to? (Score:5, Informative)
FELSTEIN & ASSOCIATES, P.A.
Attorneys for EMarketersAmerica.org, Inc.
555 South Federal Highway, Suite 450
Boca Raton, Florida 33432
(561) 367-7990 Phone
(561) 367-7980 Facsimile
mark@EMarketersAmerica.org
Mark E. Felstein, Esq.
FBN: 192139
I think we have a new address for every free cd offer, junk ad, and telemarketer list in the world.
Spam Me Please!!! (Score:3, Funny)
Address:
5016 Patrick Rd
West Bloomfield, MI 48322-1543
I REALLY NEED A PENIS ENLARGEMENT!!! PLEASE!!! I'll EVEN GIVE YOU MY CREDIT CARD NUMBER!!!!!
Maybe we could (Score:3, Funny)
In Soviet Russia... (Score:4, Funny)
Oh wait, that's the case here too... Nevermind.
Spam as business (Score:5, Insightful)
The residential users are annoying because there are so many of them, but if, 10 years from now, the only way you can send mail is to relay through a large ISP's mail servers... who do you think said ISP's best business partners will be?
For an answer to that question look to the US Postal Service's largest customers: The US Federal Government and bulk mailers.
THAT is exactly the business niche that spammers are evolving into. All they need is for users to have slightly less choice and ISPs to have slightly more power to tell their users how the Internet works rather than the other way around.
Push to keep the Internet a network of peers while establishing a system of identity, trust and responsibility (which should in turn also by non-centralized, but rooted on an arbitrary number of certificate authorities and trust databases), and you will do yourself and the rest of the world a large favor!
I Must Have Missed Something... (Score:5, Insightful)
anyway, the way it sounds is that they are being sued because they sell products/list information that people use to stop the flow of "crap" from these companies. From what I read, they didnt attack these companies, they didnt DoS them, they merely provided tools that people could use to stop spammers from contacting them.
The people that are using these tools probably never would have purchased anything from them anyway, and if they are like most of us, the emails are blocked/auto deleted/instantly trashed when they do get through, so its a moot point anyway.
I think these people are just ticked off because their scummy business is being threatened by people who are intelligent enough to "work the internet", not just "use" it.
thats just my thoughts, I could be wrong...
Eddy Marin (Score:5, Interesting)
Eddy uses a front company, "PG&C Leasing Inc." (aka lauderdale.net) to disguise his activity. This company buys the bandwidth for him to spam through. He then sets up dummy companies to act as "customers" of PG&C. If the heat gets too hot he'll "terminate" a "customer". Of course the spam just continues under another name.
He's operated like this since 1998. He's had a long time to develope a reputation among his spamming pals, and since he brings money into the local economy, Boca Raton loves him.
Here's just ONE of his netblocks:
http://www.senderbase.com/search?searchBy=ipadd
The bulk of the spam from that netblock is from "OmniPoint Marketing". If you've been paying good attention. Spam also goes out from "justdous.com, prefersavings.com, dealstwoyou.com, and tlck.net". These are registered to things like "M.M.COMMERCE,INC", and "OptIn LLC" (which is Terry Williams, another Eddy Marin flunkie)
stealthemail.com ??? Give me a break!
--Og
eMarketersAmerica.org : (Score:4, Insightful)
Blacklisting must be working... (Score:5, Funny)
"Should the Defendants, be allowed to continue their assault upon the Plaintiff and the Plaintiff's industry, the Plaintiff's industry will cease to exist."
Yay. Now there's an incentive for a judge to issue an injunction if I ever heard one: the preservation of spam.
Surely this is a joke? (Score:5, Interesting)
Several things point to this being a joke. If it's not a joke, their lawyer is the most incompetent lawyer on the planet.
I have difficulty believing that a lawyer coud really have drafted this crud.
Re:No sir, I didn't like it. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:No sir, I didn't like it. (Score:4, Informative)
This isn't advocating some sort of lynching or suspension of civil rights- it's just a simple statement of fact. The point is that spam isn't something that a large number of people are doing; it's the activities of a very small number of people making us all miserable, and that small number is approximately 180.
Parent
Re:No sir, I didn't like it. (Score:5, Insightful)
As for what, "spirited off internet" means, I think it involves a
Parent
Re:No sir, I didn't like it. (Score:5, Insightful)
DOS, schmoss. Why the hell aren't each and every one of the spammers' filter-evasion tricks prosecutable under the computer-cracking laws, as they are clearly deliberate actions aimed at bypassing the access security placed on a computer by its owner?
Parent
Re:Spam is not "worthless" (Score:4, Insightful)
When the laws are reformed so that the "cost of spam" includes 2-5 as the Bride of Bubba, then it will become unprofitable -- it doesn't bring in the kind of money that will get people to accept that level of risk (unlike, for example, the illegal drug trade).
Parent
Re:Interesting read.... (Score:4, Insightful)
The spam blockers are selling/giving away a tool that lets system administrators and individual users ignore messages that they do not wish to receive. If I started a doorbell-removal business, would certain religious groups sue me for ruining their business?
Parent