U.S. Making Arrests in Spam, Fraud Sweep

U.S. law enforcement officials are arresting dozens of people in a nationwide crackdown on spam e-mail, identity theft and other fraudulent online activity, a person involved in the investigation said Wednesday.

The sweep involves about 100 arrests, property seizures and other enforcement actions against people who spread computer viruses, trick people into divulging bank account numbers and send massive amounts of unsolicited commercial e-mail, the individual said.

When the crackdown began and whether it was continuing were details expected to be announced today at a Justice Department news conference. Department officials declined to comment until then.

The Direct Marketing Assn., an industry group representing bulk mailers and other direct sellers, said it had helped the FBI track down marketers who engage in fraudulent or abusive practices.

Congress outlawed many forms of unsolicited bulk e-mail last year, but spam continues to swamp Internet users with unsolicited pitches for pornography, questionable medicine and suspiciously low mortgage rates.

Internet providers like Time Warner Inc.’s America Online have filed dozens of spam lawsuits over the last year, and the Federal Trade Commission for years has shut down marketers who send fraudulent or deceptive e-mail.

Criminal cases have been less common. State prosecutors in Virginia, New York and a handful of other states have filed criminal suits against some spammers, and the Justice Department arrested four Detroit-area men suspected of spamming activity in April.