| Mr.Fiction |
07-01-2003 04:01 PM |
UPS files suit against spammers
Jun. 30 ? The nation's major Internet service providers have been fighting a war against "spam" for several years. Now large corporations are joining the battle.
United Parcel Service Inc. filed a lawsuit June 11 against several as-yet unnamed defendants who allegedly used UPS' e-mail system to send messages promoting sexual material and adult products to UPS customers. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.
The spammers used a technique called "spoofing," which means the e-mails appeared to come from a UPS employee with a legitimate UPS e-mail address.
The Atlanta package delivery giant is suing the spammers under federal and state laws that prohibit computer fraud and racketeering that involves the use of computers.
Officials at UPS claim in the lawsuit that the defendants sent tens of thousands of unsolicited e-mails to UPS customers with fake e-mail headers that made the spam appear as though it had come from UPS. Among the products promoted in the e-mails were sexual items and Viagra knockoff drugs, according to the lawsuit.
"Our intent is to find out who's doing this and get them to stop," said UPS spokesperson Susan Rosenberg. "This is putting a burden on customers, employees and our technology system, and it hurts our reputation. Somebody is using our good name to promote products that are repugnant to customers."
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