Spam
Spam is a term for the sending of unsolicited bulk email. Unsolicited means the recipient has not granted verifiable permission for the message to be sent. Bulk means the message is sent as part of a larger collection of messages, all having substantively identical content. With improved technology and world-wide Internet access, spam is now a widely used medium for committing traditional white collar crimes including financial institution fraud, credit card fraud, and identity theft, among others.
Those sending spam are violating the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN SPAM) Act, Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1037. Violators are also accessing computers and servers without authorization, transmitting viruses, and deploying malicious codes which compromises the computer.
Spam email traffic is estimated to account for approximately 80 percent of all email traffic. The distribution of spam is facilitated through the use of open and/or misconfigured proxies. Subjects often provide hosting services, sell open proxy information, credit card information, and email lists illegally.
Online SPAM Resources:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/resources.htm
