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U.S. arrests a hundred in spam crackdown

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CIOL Bureau
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Andy Sullivan



WASHINGTON: U.S. law enforcers are arresting dozens of people in a nationwide crackdown on "spam" e-mail, identity theft and other fraudulent online activity, a person involved in the investigation said.



The sweep involves roughly 100 arrests, property seizures and other enforcement actions against people who spread computer viruses, trick people into divulging bank-account numbers and send massive amounts of unsolicited commercial e-mail.



When the crackdown began and whether it is still going on, were details expected to be announced at a Justice Department news conference. Department officials declined to comment.



The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), which represents bulk mailers and other direct sellers, said it had helped the FBI track down marketers who engage in fraudulent or abusive practices.



"The DMA...believed it could help reduce spam and thereby help engender greater trust and comfort in legitimate commercial e-mail communications," the trade group said.



Congress outlawed many forms of unsolicited bulk e-mail last year, but spam continues to swamp Internet users with unwanted pitches for pornography, questionable medicine and suspiciously low mortgage rates.



Unsolicited bulk e-mail accounted for 65 percent of all e-mail traffic, according to computer-security company Symantec Corp., up from 50 percent in July 2003.



Over the past year, people have used spam to spread computer viruses and craft fake notices from banks to trick recipients into giving up their credit card numbers, a tactic known as "phishing."



June saw 1,422 separate phishing attacks, up from 176 in January, according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a financial-services industry task force.



Internet providers like America Online have filed dozens of spam lawsuits over the past year, and the Federal Trade Commission for years has shut down marketers who send fraudulent or deceptive e-mail.



Criminal cases have been less common so far.



State prosecutors in Virginia, New York and a handful of other states have filed criminal suits against some spammers, and the Justice Department arrested four Detroit-area men for spamming activity in April.



(Additional reporting by Peter Kaplan)

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