Spam Bounty Hunters (nooz)

[Trainz]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/business/content/business/daily/1214spambounty.html

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WASHINGTON -- Armed with a tough new anti-spam law, federal agents can begin hitting illegal spammers with heavy fines in 2004.

That is, if they can catch them. Unfortunately for law enforcement officers, the people who send out torrents of unwanted electronic messages can be very elusive, hiding behind false addresses and fake names.

But some experts believe help may be on the way: the new law requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to study the feasibility of using bounty hunters to track down outlaw spammers.

Supporters envision the day when armies of 18-year-olds will be transformed into a global posse, riding out over the Internet to help round up bad guys.

"It's a promising approach," said John Palfrey, executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University's law school. "I do think that a bounty system can be part of an integrated solution" that would include traditional law enforcement and spam-filtering software.

The bounty-hunter idea was promoted this year primarily by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., who called upon Congress to allow individuals who identify and help locate spammers to receive at least 20 percent of any fines collected.
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I think this would be the most brilliant move done by ANY government about the internet. This would take the brain-power of millions of computer-geeks and pit it against spammers.

Absolutely, totally, brilliant.

 

[BobROE]

Which would cause spam companies to hire nerds to combat the bounty hunter nerds. And of course they'd fight in classic Spock vs. Kirk style.

 

[Trainz]

LOL !

Of course, Spam companies would loose. They could hire, what, a few dudes ? Against them you would have millions striking on them: overwelming.

I can already see the net-communities where bounty hunters compare notes and go after elusive but rewarding targets.

Yup. Finally something useful to occupy hackers and virus designers.

Brilliant.

I'm tired to get e-mails by people who want my schlong to be three inches longer.

My schlong is fine as is, thank you.

 

[Clay_More]

It has a bit of that Starwars feel over it, turning hackers and crackers unto the path of Good. Lord Vader feel to be exact

And I personally abhore spam messages, but I found out that the less you click on the links, the less you begin to receive actually. Once you begin to click on the links, they register it and you a deemed a "profitable" target for spamming. I have a friend who always clicks on them, tries to locate any company email adresses and uses them to register at "not-to-be-mentioned-here" kind of websites.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

I think that even opening up some spam messages lets them know you're there. Something about the messages containing web content... At least, yahoo lets you turn off active content (or some such... but hey, this is the OT forum, not the Tech forum ).

 

[Trainz]

I also think too. Something along the lines that, if you "unsubscribe", then they know they have a signal at that particular e-mail, and THEN you get it.

I've always been careful, but I receive about 100 spam daily.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

Actually, Trainz, I was talking about the javascript email messages (ones that are basically a website in an email message) a lot of spammers send these days. Apparently, there's something there that identifies that the email address is valid.

 

[Angcuru]

I can visualize every over-18 teenager in America recieving a legalized version of Win-Nuke to utilize in the battle against spammers. And of course then along come the endless Monty Python jokes.

"I DON'T LIKE SPAM!"

 

[Clay_More]

I just knew that the good, ol' MP sketch would be brought up somewhere along this thread, I knew it.

 

[Buttercup]

So I guess Spam Bounty Hunter should be a new class for d20 modern?