California Spam-Free Initiative, SpamFrit.org, claims that U.S. spammers and 'spoofers' are some of the worst in the world, and they can be traced and prosecuted for brand abuse, if the resources are made available.
Watsonville, CA (PRWEB) August 1, 2007 -- SpamFrit.Org, the leading source of Spam Reporting in the U.S., announced today the launch of a $1 million dollar pledge drive to help combat internet spam that features U.S. brand names and U.S. spammers that are ruining small businesses through 'spoofing' campaigns. For a pledge of $50,000 each, twenty corporations will receive unlimited BrandFlic™ reports, showing how, when and where their brands are being used in spam, and their corporate logo's will be displayed prominently on the SpamFrit™ site.
SpamFrit™ has seen a fast growing trend of U.S. famous brands being misused in spam campaigns. In the last month, apart from the regular delivery of drugs and stock promotion email, SpamFrit.org email addresses have been spammed with adverts for: 1-800 Flowers, Ann Taylor, Applebee's, Apple TV, As Seen On TV, Astrology.com, Bath & Body Works, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Bellagio, Blue Man Group, BMG Music, Bose, Bounce, Burberry, Burger King, Butterfinger, Camel, Canon, Chevrolet, Chili's, Cialis, Circuit City, Clorox, Coach, Coca Cola, Coppertone Sun Screen, Columbia House, Dell, Dish Network, Dove, E! Online, e-Letterhead, Ellen de Generes, Experian, Ford, GAP, General Mills, Gevalia, Glade, GymAmerica, Go-duster, Google, HP, Harley Davidson, Hearth Song, The Home Depot, IKEA, J . C. Penney, Jet Blue, Kaboom, Kohl's, Lasik, Liberty Life, the Limited, Jay Leno, L. L. Bean, Louis Vuitton, McDonalds, Macy's, Marlboro, Mr. Clean, NBC, New York Times, Neosporin, Nike, Olive Garden, Oprah Diet, Oprah Magazine, Oprah Show, Opti-Free, Pepsi Cola, PetCare RX, Pizza Hut, Prada, Procter & Gamble, Prudential Financial, Rachel Ray, Red Lobster, Ruby Tuesday's, Saks Fifth Avenue, San Jose Mercury News, The Sharper Image, Six Flags, Sketchers, Snickers, Starbucks, Target, Trident Gum, Tylenol, Viagra, Victoria's Secrets, Vista Print, Weber, Westinghouse, Wet Seal, Whole Foods, Wynn Resorts and Xerox
"Spam is never going to stop, while 'Corporate America' turns a blind eye to their brands being used in spam, so it's time to enlist the help of those corporations who wish to become 'socially responsible,' " said Mackeonis, founder of the spam-free initiative. He continued, "The CAN-SPAM ACT was a fatally flawed concept from the start. For the Unsolicited Bulk Emailers to be able to send out spam until they are asked not to, was simply ridiculous. It's self-defeating: when spammers claim that an email address was 'given' over at an 'associated' site, the consumer is simply playing whack-a-mole, and with the unethical spammers, consumers requesting the removal of their email addresses is simply an efficient way of adding themselves to even more lists. What is needed is for corporations to police their own brands, and, that's where SpamFrit's BrandFlic™ brand-abuse-tracker comes in." (see http://spamfrit.org/corpOurService.html)
SpamFrit.org systems also assist 'Small Business America', which is currently under siege by spoofers, who send out email that appears to come from someone else, normally a small web business, causing the site that was 'spoofed' to be blacklisted. Mackeonis himself receives more than 300 emails a day, with much of it seemingly coming from his own email address. "Being spoofed was what forced me to establish SpamFrit™, otherwise, I might have been just as lackadaisical as other U.S. companies, " said Mackeonis, "and having participated in successful pledge drives for both NPR radio and PBS television broadcasts in the past, starting a pledge drive seemed to be the best way to fund this very important issue."
In an open appeal to American businesses, Mackeonis said, "This is a very important issue, which is at its tipping point, and Corporate America's support could make a major difference. Please email a contact phone number to pledgedrive @ spamFrit.org, or call me on 831.840.3729 to discuss your SpamFrit pledge."
Readers can visit the Spam-Free Initiative site at www.SpamFrit.org for more details, and should feel free to forward this News Release to as many colleagues as they wish.
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