Alleged spammer coughs up $25,000

DC Enterprises has agreed to settle a spam-related case with the Massachusetts Attorney General's office, marking resolution of the first state case under the federal Can-Spam Act, state regulators have announced.

DC Enterprises and its principal owner, William Carson of Florida, agreed to pay $25,000 and halt further violations of the Can-Spam Act, as well as Massachusetts mortgage-broker laws and advertising laws.

Carson could not immediately be reached for comment.

Under the case, filed in June, Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly alleged that DC Enterprises and Carson sent thousands of unsolicited commercial e-mails touting low-interest mortgages. But the bulk emails allegedly failed to provide a working "opt out" provision that would have allowed recipients to prevent future emails, did not clearly identify the notices as advertisements, and used a non-functioning return address, all of which violate provisions of the Can-Spam Act and the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.

"These messages are the type of unwanted and annoying solicitations that have become the scourge of internet users and threaten the credibility of companies using email for legitimate purposes," Reilly said in a statement.

Customers who attempted to click on the "opt out" link at the bottom of the emails found that it failed to work, and letters sent to DC Enterprises' Massachusetts business address did not receive a response, the lawsuit had alleged. The emails also asked for personal and financial information, as well. The settlement with DC Enterprises comes 10 months after the Can-Spam Act went into effect on 1 January. Other cases include a lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice in April, which was the first case under the new antispam act.

Despite the Can-Spam Act, the proliferation of bulk email has continued to soar and, in a growing number of cases, spam includes features designed to dupe the recepient into providing personal and financial information that could be used by the sender to commit financial crimes.

Dawn Kawamoto writes for CNET News.com