Customers blame spam on filched lists
Source: CNet News
At least three current and former Lyris customers this week complained that recipients of their e-mail newsletters have been receiving spam. MarketingSherpa.com, a publisher of online marketing newsletters, suspects that all eight of its mailing lists have been compromised, said Anne Holland, the company's founder. More than 20 other publishers, who combined have more than 2 million e-mail addresses on their lists, have also contacted Holland saying their Lyris-hosted lists have been compromised.
"We contacted Lyris immediately," Holland said. "Anytime you get a spam complaint from readers, you have to take it very seriously. It could kill your entire company."
About five of the 1,000 customers who have their distribution lists hosted by Lyris have contacted the company with spam concerns, said Steven Brown, the company's chief of operations. The company has hired Word to the Wise, an outside consulting firm, to investigate the matter, Brown said. So far the company has no evidence that the lists on its servers have been compromised.
