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April 27, 2005
The Spam Fight Continues
Posted by Dana Blankenhorn
A few weeks ago we were bombarded with news items claiming spam isn't all that bad, that we don't care about it anymore.
Not everyone has given up the fight. In fact some have escalated it. One such is Andrew Ferguson, a technically-gifted blogger out of Colorado. (That's him, above, from his blog.)
Ferguson is using SkypeOut. He calls the spammer's contact number using SkypeOut and leverages Skype's inherent cost advantage to keep that phone busy, so victims can't get through. No victims, no money to the spammer.
Ferguson can go even further, automating his SkypeOut calling so each call takes just three seconds, barely long enough for the spammer's phone to ring. That line is continually tied-down and Ferguson's SkypeOut charges remain minimal.
There are limits to this aggressive defense. You don't get that three-second cost advantage on a mobile call, so if the spammer is on a cell each call costs you a full minute of time. If the contact number is phone you're reaching an innocent victim.
But the aggressive defense can be automated further. Spams with the right characteristics can automatically be posted to a listserve, where those with SkypeOut accounts can then use to escalate things further. And there is not much you can do with a tied-up phone line.
Is this going too far? Maybe. Is it harassment? Definitely.
But until U.S. laws change so spam is really illegal (current law mandates opt-out policies which legalizes a lot of spam) I expect this technique to escalate.
Not everyone has given up the war on spam.
Comments (3)
+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: ethics | law | spam
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Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for over 25 years and has covered the online world professionally since 1985. He founded the "Interactive Age Daily" for CMP Media, and has written for the Chicago Tribune, Advertising Age, and dozens of other publications over the years.
1. Joe Craddock on April 27, 2005 01:36 PM writes...
Dana,
Unfortunately there are a lot of self appointed vigilantes taking some strange ideas to an extreme. We have found that this nonsense is not necessary when our system is used.
Joe Craddock
Mail-Block.com
Permalink to Comment2. Michael Murray on May 6, 2005 10:06 AM writes...
This is all so much idiocy. How much fuel does the Post Office waste delivering junk mail? How many strained backs and damaged knees from carrying all the junk postal mail around? How may trips to the trash can does the average American make to throw out junk mail? Where's the outrage folks?
Do we have vigilante groups attacking postal junk mailers? Why not? Junk is junk, right?
The kid had better wake up, and so should you. You should be ashamed of yourself for even hinting that vigilante justice is appropriate ("Is this going too far? Maybe"). What if the junk mailers decided to flood your blog with their offerings?
What he's doing is interfering with someone's business and impacting their income. If the business is illegal, shut it down. If you don't like the businesses and interfere with them, be ready for the lawsuits.
Young Mr. Ferguson should also be aware that he's risking his personal safety with his vigilante activity. We're a violent nation, and many people have very adverse reactions to extreme stress ("going postal"?, Columbine?), and trying to destroy someone's business would certainly qualify. Their reaction is often to remove threats by any means necessary, including a very severe beating.
I commend him for not being cowardly and not ambushing people he doesn't like from the bushes, but there really are better ways to deal with the problem that aren't as risky.
Do you all know why spam exists at all? Because it works. It makes money for the mailer. People on the Internet buy the stuff. You may not like the ad, but enough people do to make it attractive to continue.
What's the solution? Educate consumers to ignore ads they didn't request? Good luck.
We put up with jumnk postal mail. Get a life and get spam control software. Change your email address every now and then. Get real and get over it, it will never go away.
Permalink to Comment3. A Spamee on May 7, 2005 11:12 AM writes...
"Get over it", huh? I've had two e-mail accounts destroyed = rendered totally unusable by American spammers. It's cost me a lot of time and frustration trying to get everyone to use my new addresses. I know for sure that many e-mails to and from me just vanish in transit because spam filters have yet another false positive on them. "Get over it"? No, I won't. Greedy non-ethical American spammers are the lowest scum parasites of the internet, damaging it for everyone else. They show the American "free enterprise" system at its very worst. What is the US going to do about these parasites? Absolutely nothing.
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