Net phone customers brace for 'VoIP spam'
If you're sick of spam, imagine wading through dozens of prerecorded porn and Viagra messages on your voice mail.
Some computer security and privacy experts are warning that such a day may not be far off for customers of new Internet phone services, which marry the immediacy of a voice call with the conveniences--and inconveniences--of e-mail.
That could be unwelcome news for those who believe telemarketing is already so bad it can't possibly get any worse.
"The fear with VoIP spam is you will have an Internet address for your phone number, which means you can use the same tools you use for e-mail to generate traffic, said Tom Kershaw, a vice president at security specialist VeriSign. "That raises automation to scary degrees."
