* Amazon vows to go after spoofers to the full extent of the law
Amazon.com executives had some tough words for companies or individuals engaging in brand spoofing.
“Spoofing is forgery and we’re going after spoofers to the full extent of the law,” said David Zapolsky, vice president and associate general counsel at Amazon.com.
Amazon.com is just one of many companies to have its trusted domain hijacked by mass e-mailers in a process called spoofing. Users open the messages thinking that they are coming from reputable companies – only to find that in fact they are not.
The e-tailer announced it is joining forces with the New York Attorney General’s Office to take on spoofers. The company filed federal lawsuits against 11 online marketers, hoping to restrain them sending out more e-mail. At the same time, the attorney general came to a settlement agreement with one spoofer, Cyebye.com, slapping it with penalties of $10,000. Cybebye.com entered into a separate agreement with Amazon.com for an undisclosed amount.
Zapolsky said in a statement: “Spoofing is a problem faced by any company with a trusted domain name that uses e-mail to communicate with its customers. It’s not just spam; it’s consumer fraud.”
He added that the actions being undertaken by Amazon.com and New York AG’s office “will send a strong message to anyone engaged in this conduct that it will not be tolerated.”
Amazon has set up a site dedicated to tracking its legal actions (https://www.amazon.com/stopspoofing) and says it will continue to investigate other abuses of the company’s domain.
The company says that it also is working with ISPs and other online companies to develop technical solutions to thwart the problem.
What do you think? Will Amazon.com be able to slow down the rampant brand spoofing? Or will its legal threats fall on deaf ears? Let me know at sgittlen@nww.com
