Listening to the Federal Trade Commission, one easily can get the impression that deceptive e-mail is downright un-American, since so much of it comes from places like Nigeria, Canada and Russia.

That's why the top consumer watchdog agency is asking Congress for expanded power to pursue foreign spammers, among other requests.

This week, the FTC requested an extension of authority to work more intensively with foreign governments in fraud investigations. In a prepared statement, the agency maintained that such powers "would help the FTC fight deceptive spam by allowing the commission to investigate more fully spam originating from outside the United States."

The agency proposal, presented Wednesday before subcommittees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, also would permit the FTC to obtain records about suspected spammers, without the spammer being informed.

The request for expanded powers comes as escalating complaints about spam is putting pressure on the commission to come up with ways to crack down on junk e-mailers.

[ Read more ]

Related items

• News: Corporate spam overtakes legitimate e-mail (3 June 2003)
• News: Spam tsunami (2 June 2003)
• News: Europe imports an American problem - spam (2 June 2003)
• News: Congress slams spam (23 May 2003)
• News: Microsoft and Symantec give Senate recipes for frying spam (22 May 2003)
• News: You've got spam (very likely from a hijacked computer) (21 May 2003)
• News: Testers angry over spam-blocking fees (21 May 2003)
• News: Feds prime new antispam weapon (16 May 2003)
• News: Spam attempts to scam Bank of America customers (14 May 2003)
• News: Before friday comes spamday (12 May 2003)
• News: EarthLink sues the 'Buffalo spammer' (8 May 2003)
• News: Is spam behind a cell-phone virus? (5 May 2003)
• News: Best way to stop spammers? Make them pay! (5 May 2003)
• News: Are blacklists killing more than spam? (2 May 2003)
• News: Fight spam with SpamProbe (2 May 2003)
• News: Virginia threatens spammers with jail (1 May 2003)
• News: Go hunting for spammers (30 April 2003)
• News: Rise of the spam zombies (28 April 2003)
• News: Antispam activist claims court victory (9 April 2003)
• Article: Iraq Dragged Into The Infamous 419 Scam (7 April 2003)
• News: Spam pips viruses as biggest web problem (4 April 2003)
• Article: Spam Checklist - April Fool's Day is Approaching (27 March 2003)
• Article: Spam Wars - Rise of the Spam (16 May 2002)
• Article: Spam: The problems with junk e-mail (8 April 2002)
• Article: Mail Abuse Prevention Organization stands up to giant Harris Interactive (4 April 2002)
• Article: The six headed spam monster (1 April 2002)