|
| US laws dictate that hardcore messages must be
clearly labeled as such. |
Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have welcomed
news that a woman has pleaded guilty to her involvement in a gang
which sent spam containing graphic pornographic images. The
33-year-old also ran a website which supported mums who wished to
make money while staying at home looking after their children.
Jennifer Clason, of Raymond, New Hampshire, was charged
following more than 600,000 complaints from AOL users that they had
received spam messages promoting adult pornographic websites.
Clason pleaded guilty at a federal court in Phoenix, Arizona, to
two counts under the CAN-SPAM Act, and one count of criminal
conspiracy. She has agreed to forfeit money obtained in the
commission of the crimes, and faces a maximum sentence of five
years in prison for each of the offenses.
Brian McWilliams, a commentator on the spam industry, discovered that
Jennifer Clason also runs a website, www.mommyjobs.com, which
claims to help mothers find a way of giving up office jobs, and
receive income while staying at home with their children. In
articles published by Clason she says she has "been running a
full-time home-based internet business for 7+ years and owns more
than 10 different internet sales websites."
"It's sickening to think that a woman claiming to help other
mums generate an income while looking after their children was also
involved in spam campaigns that promoted adult pornographic
websites. The US computer crime authorities are cracking down
harder than ever on those responsible for sending spam, and they
should be congratulated for bringing another culprit to justice,"
said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Firm action
is required worldwide to send a strong message to spammers that
their activities are simply unacceptable."
Jennifer Clason told members of the MommyJobs
messageboard that she had to "tend to some business". This business
trip coincided with her court appearance in Phoenix.
According to the plea agreement entered at the court, Clason
conspired to transmit spam emails containing graphic pornographic
images with Jeffrey A. Kilbride, of Venice, California, and James
R. Schaffer, of Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Under US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules spammers must include the
warning 'SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT: ' in the subject lines of their
pornographic emails or face fines. Spammers who do not clearly
label their sexually orientated messages are in violation of
federal law.
"Hopefully this case will be a warning to other spammers that
the police treat spamming as a serious crime, that costs home users
and businesses money around the world," continued Cluley.
Since the media disclosed details of Clason's involvement in the
spam ring, she has admitted to members of her MommyJobs website
that she does not really have a child, as she had previously
claimed.
Jennifer Clason is scheduled to be sentenced on 5 June 2006.
More details on the case against Clason are available from the
US Department of
Justice website. Two other individuals, Andrew Ellifson and
Kirk Rogers, have already pleaded
guilty to charges connected with the spamming operation.
Sophos recommends that companies protect their email gateways
with a consolidated solution to defend
against viruses, spyware and spam. Businesses should also secure
their desktop and servers with automatically updated
protection.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.