Andy Markley was really looking forward to a work-free Labor Day weekend far away from his computer. But he made the mistake of checking his inbox before he left for his planned holiday.

Hundreds of e-mails greeted Markley that Saturday morning, most of them reporting an undeliverable message sent from his e-mail account. And interspersed with those bounced messages were angry rants accusing Markley of sending out spam offering pharmaceuticals without a prescription.

Markley isn't a spammer, he's a graphic artist. He was the victim of a con artist who sent thousands of spam messages carefully crafted to appear as if they had originated from Markley's domain.

The scam almost cost Markley his business, his reputation, his website and his sanity. His Internet service provider wouldn't help him, despite the fact that his computer and his e-mail account were being overwhelmed by an avalanche of spam-spew that made it impossible to do business or even collect his personal e-mail.

So Markley decided to fight back.

[ Read more ]

Related items

• News: Fighting spam with Qmail (29 September 2003)
• News: Spam slayer: spotting the good guys (24 September 2003)
• News: In Britain, spammers will pay (19 September 2003)
• News: Paying spammers not to spam (15 September 2003)
• News: Antispam companies raking it in (9 September 2003)
• News: Are we outsmarting spam? (5 September 2003)
• News: How some spammers get your e-mail (3 September 2003)
• News: Use DSPAM to reduce spam from a Linux mail server (2 September 2003)
• News: A support group for spammers (2 September 2003)
• News: The only ways to stop spam and viruses (25 August 2003)
• News: Unholy matrimony: spam and virus (12 August 2003)
• News: 'Do not spam' lists find skeptics (11 August 2003)
• News: Swollen orders show spam's allure (7 August 2003)
• News: Spam dumpster diving (31 July 2003)
• News: A new tool for combating spam (17 July 2003)
• News: Could hackers launch a denial-of-spam attack? (15 July 2003)
• News: We've found the perfect solution to spam (9 July 2003)
• News: Dutch mass spammer loses grip (7 July 2003)
• News: Spam peddlers hijack computers (3 July 2003)
• News: US anti-spam laws 'will legalise spam' (2 July 2003)
• News: Defending your site against spam (30 June 2003)
• News: How viruses (and your PC) are used to send spam (30 June 2003)
• News: Toward a spam-free future (25 June 2003)
• News: HP to ship antispam software on new PCs (19 June 2003)
• News: Microsoft takes spam fight to court (18 June 2003)
• News: Anti-spam proposals get tougher (17 June 2003)
• News: Spam 'more of a menace than hackers' (13 June 2003)
• News: FTC: blame foreigners for spam (12 June 2003)
• 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)