Spam keeps cookin'--despite new laws

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It ain't so

Teelucksingh is wrong. Anti-hacker legislation does discourage hackers and virus writers, because they are getting caught and getting prosecuted. Nowadays, aalmost anywhere in the world, before someone hacks a network or releases a virus, they stop to think. They ask themselves: will I get caught, and how will I be punished?

Now obviously many of them do go ahead anyway. But hacking just for fun has been driven underground, whereas it could have become as popular as swapping MP3 music.

The problem with spam is that U.S. laws are not very effective. Anecdotally, there are 200 major spammers in business, and they all get at least one free shot at you. If they aren't considered responsible for providing a service to other advertisers, 300 million Americans get one shot at you each. "Hi! My name is Wanda Hicksdaughter. I live at Plot 57, Teelucksingh Trailer Park, Butte County, ZA. And I'd like to recommend to you http://obscene-phone-calls.com/ and their archive of hilarious recordings. Choose your script, then call the premium rate number, key the number of your victim, and listen while we do the rest."

(I wonder if that would be a legal business under Do-Not-Call?)

Posted by: Robert Carnegie   Posted on: 02/18/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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