| E-mail Resurges
E-mail marketing has gone through many stages. Once the "killer app" by which to connect with prospects personally and at a low cost, it later fell by the wayside as spam and list abuse reared their heads. Now, as response rates in other channels rise and fall, more marketers are returning to e-mail as the centerpiece of their digital marketing efforts."E-mail is not just a tool to support a campaign. It's the digital backbone tying all other communication channels together," said Jeanniey Mullen, co-founder of the newly formed E-mail Experience Council (EEC) and senior director of e-mail marketing at OgilvyOne Worldwide.But she said e-mail's early success as a hyper-personalized channel was hurt by the drive to make it flashier, prettier, sexier. Rich applications and graphics wreaked havoc with ISP bandwidth, unready e-mail clients, and user patience.
EarthLink Investigation Shuts Down Spammers, Again
Evidence gathered by EarthLink's fraud and abuse team has led to the arrest of individuals who allegedly sent over 25,000 email messages using PeoplePC accounts.
R. Alexander Acosta, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, has charged Jared Cosgrave and Mohammed Haque with fraud and related activity in connection with electronic mail in violation of the CAN- SPAM Act. Both have pled guilty to the charge filed.
"Spammers who set up PeoplePC accounts for the sole purpose of sending spam will be dealt with harshly. EarthLink is committed to cracking down on any abuse of our networks," said Lindsey Wegrzyn, EarthLink's operations security enforcement advisor. "We commend the South Florida Attorney General's Office and Miami FBI for helping to shut down this spamming operation."
The arrests and charges come after a month long investigation last year by EarthLink's fraud and abuse team.
MX Logic Integrates Cloudmark Into Premium Email Defense Service
SAN FRANCISCO, CA and ENGLEWOOD, CO -- (MARKET WIRE) -- October 17, 2006 -- Cloudmark, the proven leader in real-time messaging security, and MX Logic Inc., a leading managed security services provider of easy-to-use email and Web security solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, announced today that the Cloudmark Authority™ platform has been integrated into the MX Logic® Email Defense Service. Cloudmark Authority high-performance solution extends MX Logic's spam and phishing filtering capabilities. MX Logic can now provide business customers with greater zero-hour defense against email messaging abuse, image spam and non-English language spam, as well as improved detection of fraudulent phishing emails. The Cloudmark Authority platform resides within the MX Logic Stacked Classification Framework® spam detection system, which is powered by patented technology and combines the most effective spam-fighting filters and techniques in the industry.
You've got junk mail
By the end of this year, 71 per cent of email sent worldwide will be spam, according to the Radicati research group. Chances are some will have landed in your inbox. The Messaging Anti-Abuse Work Group puts the spam invasion figure even higher - at 85 per cent. There are many conflicting statistics from large organisations and small, all trying to find a meaningful way to tally the inbox impact. Spam Links (spamlinks.net/ stats.htm) lists just a few. Whatever the total, one fact remains constant: billions of these messages are junk, or much worse. Fighting spam is serious business. Gone are the days when emails for hot babes and penis extensions were merely a nuisance. Spam has reached staggering volumes and the increasingly malicious nature of these messages poses a security risk.
Skype Spam
Instant Messaging spam isnt new to a lot of us, but for people who have just opened up a new Skype account it may be the first encounter you have. Last week, for example, when I was happily was working away, a rude message appeared from a random user, asking whether I would like to see "naughty things". This very unethical spammer was trying to push me towards his adult site via his spammy messages.This is potentially the worst form of spam I have ever encountered. I'm not easily offended, but he could just as easily been chatting to my seven year old daughter. It's unlikely that these highly unethical spammers check to make sure they're only spamming over 18s - but whatever age you are, receiving this type of spam can be very offensive.My first reaction to this kind of spam is to ignore it; close the message window and carry on with my work; but this persistent spammer kept IMing me until I was forced to stop work and take notice.
Popular Craigslist Web Site Now Charges $25 Fee for Help Wanted ...
While Craigslist claims its new policy of charging local employers to post job openings will discourage abuse of its popular Internet-based social networking and classified advertising service, one critic says the fees would certainly generate more revenues. Its a bit disingenuous to say hes doing it solely to knock out the scams, because the community already does a good job of notifying you when something isnt right, and its not hard to get them off there once you know, said Howard Rosen, operations director for the San Diego Reader, which distributes 175,000 copies weekly throughout the county. But hes certainly entitled to charge because it is an opportunity for him to make money. Craigslist Inc., the San Francisco e-company that offers online ads in various U.S. and foreign cities, began charging employers $25 per help wanted listing last week.
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