SYDNEY: Australian authorities are investigating an incident of a person sending billions of spam emails promoting Viagra allegedly using Dutch computers. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) had carried out raids at his home but it refused to reveal his identity or details of the locality or the date of the raid.
The investigations began following a tip-off from the Netherlands, according to the authorities.
It is illegal under Australian rules for residents to be involved in sending unsolicited emails, even if they are generated from outside the country.
According to sources, the man had rented several servers from an internet service provider in the Netherlands to carry out the alleged spam campaign. Dutch regulators then contacted Australian officials after raiding the ISP's office in May 2005.
In a statement Tuesday, the ACMA's chairperson, Lyn Maddock, said a preliminary analysis of the email messages contained in the spam campaign has identified that over two billion emails were sent in one spam campaign. She said ACMA authorities are examining the evidence now.
Australia had introduced laws in 2004 making spamming an offence and instituting fines for offenders ranging from A$220,000 per day for first-time corporate offenders to A$1.1 million per day for repeat offenders.
