[FYI] (Fwd) FC: NY suit aims to stop spammer, learn how addresses were harvested

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Tue, 28 May 2002 12:52:41 -0400
From:           	Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
To:             	politech@politechbot.com
Subject:        	FC: NY suit aims to stop spammer, learn how addresses were harvested
Send reply to:  	declan@well.com



http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2002/may/may28a_02.html

                             Department of Law
                                120 Broadway
                             New York, NY 10271
                             Department of Law
                             The State Capitol
                              Albany, NY 12224

                           For More Information:
                    (518) 473-5525 For Immediate Release
                                May 28, 2002

    STATE LAWSUIT SEEKS TO END SPAM EMAILS SENT BY NIAGARA FALLS
    COMPANY Spitzer Says Company Sent More than 500 Million
    Unsolicited Messages
                               to Consumers 

   Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today filed a lawsuit against a
   Niagara Falls-based "spammer" that sent hundreds of millions of
   emails to consumers whom it falsely claimed had requested the
   emails.

   "Every day New Yorkers are being inundated with unsolicited
   commercial emails, or spam," Spitzer said. "Some of the spam is a
   vehicle for fraud, some of the spam is inherently fraudulent, and
   much of it constitutes a real annoyance for email user. This
   lawsuit is the next battle in our continuing fight against online
   fraud, and an attempt to help consumers maintain control of their
   email in-boxes."

   MonsterHut, Inc., its Chief Executive Officer Todd Pelow and its
   Chief Technical Officer Gary Hartl, are accused of fraudulently
   advertising and representing the company's email marketing service
   as "permission based" or "opt-in," meaning that every consumer to
   whom they send commercial email has explicitly asked to receive it.
   In fact, the suit alleges, the company's email lists are only
   partly "opt-in," and include many consumers who never asked to
   receive email from the company. The suit also alleges that this
   false representation of MonsterHut's business practices enabled the
   company to profit through the deception its Internet access
   provider, its own paid advertisers, and consumers at large.

   The suit alleges that since March 2001, MonsterHut has flooded
   consumers' email in-boxes with more than 500 million commercial
   emails, advertising a variety of goods and services. At the same
   time, negative consumer response to MonsterHut's spam has been
   overwhelming. More than 750,000 consumers have requested to be
   removed from MonsterHut's mailing lists, and tens of thousands have
   complained to MonsterHut's internet access provider, PaeTec
   Communications, Inc., of Rochester.

   Earlier this month, PaeTec cut off MonsterHut from its network,
   after a New York appeals court held that MonsterHut had violated an
   anti-spamming provision in its contract with PaeTec. However,
   nothing in that decision prevented MonsterHut from spamming
   consumers through another internet service provider. "We are
   seeking to prevent MonsterHut from continuing its fraudulent,
   deceptive and illegal practices, not just over PaeTec's network,
   but over any ISP in New York," Spitzer said.

   The Attorney General is seeking a court order to:
     * Enjoin MonsterHut, Pelow, and Hartl from falsely representing
     the
       nature of their unsolicited commercial email;
     * Require MonsterHut, Pelow and Hartl to disclose how it obtained
       all the consumers' email addresses; and
     * Require MonsterHut, Pelow and Hartl to pay civil penalties and
       court costs for its violations of New York's consumer
       protection laws.

   This case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Stephen
   Kline of Attorney General Spitzer's Internet Bureau.

###



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