Visa threatens banks over spammer accounts
Visa has begun threatening banks that harbour spammer accounts in a move designed to crush the spam revenue model.
The initiative, described as a “major effort”, had been quietly underway since the start of the year and has already forced the closure of accounts held by major spam players.
Under the model, organisations who spot counterfeit products being sold online by spammers can report the fraud to the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, a task force composed of executives from corporations including Microsoft, Rolex and Apple. The coalition would then investigate the complaint and refer the matter to Visa, which would then pressure the acquiring bank processing the spam transactions to shutter the accounts.
