Customer spamming lands Orcon in hot water – again
Source: IDG NZ
Auckland ISP Orcon Internet is in the firing line of anti-spammers after a bulk email with a reference to one of its customers went out to recipients worldwide.
The email was sent last Friday from an account at UK ISP BT Internet, falsely claiming to be "opt-in" -- that is, solicited by the recipient -- and asking them to go to a site on Orcon-hosted Cashevolution.com's web server.
Participants in the news.admin.net-abuse.email Usenet newsgroup reported receiving copies of the above email, noting that bulk email referencing Cashevolution.com had been sent since July this year, without any apparent action from Orcon. The "spamvertised" websites still exist on Cashevolutions.com's server, despite the companies having anti-spam policies that state any affiliates caught spamming will be kicked out of the scheme, forfeiting the monies already paid in.
Cashevolution.com's website says it's a "unique business system" that "aims to teach average people how to make money, and then retain it". The site, which charges a joining fee of $US25, claims to have over 50,000 members. It was recently warned by the New Zealand Commerce Commission "as at risk of being [a] pyramid selling scheme". Pyramid schemes are prohibited under the Fair Trading Act (see Ministry of Consumer Affairs information).
