This is what they call Spam

QUEENSLAND resident Lance Atkinson faces criminal action in the US, after being name one of the alleged kingpins in the world's biggest spamming network.

Mr Atkinson, 26, a New Zealand citizen living in the Sunshine Coast suburb of Pelican Waters, and Texan resident Jody Smith, were named by America's Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in connection to a huge spamming operation.

"The FTC's complaint alleges that both Atkinson and Smith are liable for the spamming," the FTC said in a statement.

"It holds Lance Atkinson responsible for all product claims, and Smith liable for claims made for the pharmaceutical products," it said.

The email spam generated in the alleged operation, which marketed a range of herbal and drug tonics, sex enhancers and sex toys, drew more than three million complaints.

It is alleged a so-called "botnet" of compromised computers connected to the pair was responsible for sending billions of spam emails.

"At one time, nearly one-third of the world's spam email came from a network of compromised computers, often referred to as a botnet, that sent spam promoting the defendants' websites," the FTC alleges.

"Their enterprise included participants in Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Russia, Canada, and the US."

Four companies controlled by Mr Atkinson and Mr Smith, Inet Ventures, Tango Pay Inc, Click Fusion Inc, and TwoBucks Trading Limited, were also named in the court action.

"In June 2005, the FTC obtained a $2.2 million judgment against Atkinson and another business partner for running a similar spam affiliate program that marketed herbal products," the FTC said.

Meanwhile, Mr Atkinson and two other New Zealand men face fines of up to $NZ200,000 ($178,000) for their alleged part in running the email spamming ring.

New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has filed High Court civil proceedings against Atkinson, his brother Shane Atkinson and Christchurch courier Roland Smits.

The DIA's Trevor Henry said the group's activities were not considered criminal under New Zealand law, but the department could sue and seek a maximum penalty of $NZ200,000 from each man.

The trio probably netted about $US2 million ($2.9 million) in sales commissions from the two million emails they sent in New Zealand alone.

Mr Henry said the Government would need to decide if such penalties were harsh enough.

The men, who were served court papers earlier this month, have 30 days to issue a statement of defence if they wish to contest the proceedings.

In June 2005, the FTC obtained a $US2.2 million ($3.1 million) judgment against Lance Atkinson and another business partner for running a similar spam affiliate program that marketed herbal products.

It is estimated about 120 billion spam messages were sent daily.

Source :APP