Amazon, Microsoft File Internet Fraud Suits

Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. filed lawsuits against U.S. and Canadian companies they claim had used their names to commit fraud on the Internet.

One suit accuses Gold Disk Canada Inc. of online forgery known as spoofing by sending e-mails that appear to come from Amazon.com and Microsoft’s Hotmail.com, the companies said.

Others are accused of using phony Amazon.com e-mail and websites to trick consumers into providing personal financial information, known as “phishing.”

Microsoft has filed 70 similar suits since June.