Microsoft and New York Align to Sue Spammers

Microsoft and the state of New York announced Thursday jointlawsuits against one of the nation's most egregious spammers. Thesuits target Scott Richter, currently listed as the third mostprolific sender of spam in the world, according to spam researchers.Richter is accused of sending illegal spam messages in 35 countriesand disguising the email so that consumers can't trace it. "Deceptiveand illegal spam, like the kind we're attacking today, is overwhelminglegitimate email and threatening the promise and potential of theInternet for all of us," Brad Smith, senior vice president and generalcounsel at Microsoft, said. The move comes just 1 day after PresidentGeorge W. Bush signed the nation's first antispam bill into law