A new FTC report titled "Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcers Tackle Deceptive Spam and Internet Scams" was released today. It is available at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/11/netforce.htm While not as swift and brutal as many would prefer- there were no stormings of buildings by jack-booted SWAT teams- it's a great step for them, and its good to know that they are dedicating resources towards fighting the problem. Recognition is the first step, and all. I hppened on the release while looking for how to submit a complaint- which you can do at https://rn.ftc.gov/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01 [slightly off-topic rant follows] I've been plagued for months by 7 to 10 random spams a day, sent to an address I have only given to "lanstreet.com". The spam comes from Brazil, Mexico, Japan and Hong Kong, as well as various US DSL sources. To Lanstreet's credit, their whois information is up to date. I called and spoke to their contact, Tseng Lo, at (626) 810-8341. I called and asked him if they were selling customer information, contrary to their privacy policy (http://www.lanstreet.com/privacypolicy.cfm). He stated several times that under no circumstances did they sell or release customer information voluntarily. How, then, did this email address become known to random spammers across five countries and several continents? His explanation was simple. He let me know that because they host their site on NT machines, it is highly probable that the information was obtained by unknown parties hacking into their systems. He told me that while he was aware of unauthorized intrusions, he was not able to give me a number of incidents. The moral? Stay away. I found lanstreet.com through a pricewatch search for wireless networking products. They lie about their privacy policy and have no interest in keeping customer information safe. Sorry for the rant, but I wanted to spare you folks the potential for a credit fraud nightmare. matt ghali --mghali@snark.net------------------------------------------<darwin>< Flowers on the razor wire/I know you're here/We are few/And far between/I was thinking about her skin/Love is a many splintered thing/Don't be afraid now/Just walk on in. #include <disclaim.h>