For instance, they use special software to collect e-mail addresses from online companies, discussion groups and personal Web pages. The spamming of AOL customers led to a recent court decision against LCGM, a Michigan company that uses e-mail to promote online pornography sites. A federal judge ruled that LCGM committed fraud by sending unsolicited e-mail to AOL's 15 million customers in the face of prohibitions on spam. The judge said that LCGM's actions amounted to fraud under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Other spam deals in outright fraud, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Examples abound, including spurious moneymaking and credit-repair schemes and false product claims.
The federal court decision is the first big legal enforcement tool to haul away electronic trash, and both providers and online customers should blow the whistle the moment they see more.