U.S. 'spam' sleuthing: Follow the money

[icymist]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/aptech_story.asp?category=1700&slug=Internet%20Spam

Thursday, April 29, 2004 · Last updated 12:12 p.m. PT

U.S. 'spam' sleuthing: Follow the money

By TED BRIDIS
AP TECHNOLOGY WRITER

WASHINGTON -- The government's first criminal case under a new law outlawing some types of spam e-mails was based on low-tech investigative methods: Authorities followed the money.

Investigators said Thursday they tracked defendants by purchasing a weight-loss product for $59.95 and waited to see who collected the money.

That explanation was a tacit acknowledgment of the difficulties tracing electronic sales pitches that can carry forged return addresses and bounce through unprotected relay computers on the Internet.

"We buy the product and see who charges our credit card," said Howard Beales, director of the consumer protection bureau at the Federal Trade Commission. "It's virtually impossible to trace the e-mail itself."

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