Originally Posted by Computerworld.com

A $1 billion lawsuit filed today promises to open up a new front in the battle against spam: It targets not just spammers, but -- for the first time -- also those responsible for harvesting e-mail addresses on behalf of spammers.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., is one of the largest of its kind and is being filed on behalf of Project Honey Pot members in over 100 countries. Project Honey Pot is a service provided by Park City, Utah-based antispam company Unspam Technologies Inc.

"If you've harvested e-mail addresses or sent spam in the last two years, chances are you're on our radar screen, and we're coming after you," a note posted on the Project Honey Pot Web site said today.

"This lawsuit is unique because we believe it is the first major case in the United States to bring a claim against spammers for harvesting e-mail addresses," the note said. "While this practice has been a penalty enhancement under the CAN-SPAM Act since it was passed, in most cases the data was not available in order to prove an address was harvested."