ISPA Hall of Shame pays dividends

Johannesburg, 21 Sept 2009

Six South African spammers placed on the SA Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) Hall of Shame spammers list have undertaken not to send spam again.

This follows an initiative by ISPA to name and shame the country's top spammers in an effort to curb spamming and protect users' e-mail privacy.

Spam has been increasing since the 1990s and shows no sign of stopping. This is according to Ant Brooks, GM of ISPA, who says the association has received a fairly good response to the Hall of Shame initiative.

The Hall of Shame report assists ISPA members, ISPs, and individual and corporate e-mail users to make informed decisions on the mail they wish to receive or allow to pass over their networks, in accordance with accepted Internet standards.

ISPA says the companies and individuals on the Hall of Shame list must change their e-mail behaviour and can contact ISPA, which will reassess its decision providing they take active steps to adhere to best practices when sending e-mail for commercial purposes.

However, Brooks warns that ISPA's criteria are a lot stricter for getting removed from the Hall of Shame a second time.

Curbing spam

Brooks says: “Educating companies that spamming is a bad idea results in less spam, so that's definitely a positive outcome. Hopefully all of the companies we have removed are truly reformed.

“We've also had some feedback from ISPs who are using the information in the Hall of Shame to decide which ISPs to block. So customers of those ISPs are now protected against getting unwanted mail from those spammers. That's another outcome resulting in less spam for consumers, and every bit helps.”

According to Brooks, ISPA removes companies automatically if several months pass without any new spam being reported from them, adding that many short-term spammers have come and gone. “We ran the Hall of Shame for about a year internally before launching the public version, so I'd estimate that we've had a few dozen SA spammers listed in total so far.

“Of course, the vast majority of spam ending up in SA is sent from spammers in other countries, and not from SA. Spam is something that nations all over the planet are wrestling with and ISPA keeps a close eye on other anti-spam projects around the world. Even though spam originating in SA is currently only a tiny faction of global spam, we think it is important for South African ISPs and Internet users to make it clear that spammers are not welcome here.

“The Bill of Rights says: 'Everyone has the right to privacy, which includes the right not to have the privacy of their communications infringed.' So privacy rights are firmly entrenched in SA's Constitution,” adds Brooks.

Top spammers

The latest companies and individuals highlighted in the ISPA Hall of Shame report include Dynamic Seminars; New Heights 1268 / Jaco Derksen; www.we-insure.co.za; Vector Builders, Plumbers and Electricians; Media Online; Ivan Stander; Computer Corporation Marketing; Goedkoop.co.za; Beyond Red; and Uvest.

ISPA has also named individuals and companies that advertise lists of South African e-mail addresses for sale or use by spammers, an activity that is a significant contributor to spam originating in SA. They include Mark Tribelhorn, Affordable Construction, Rain Marketing, and Media Online.