World spam news

c|net reports that Microsoft is going to start going after phishers who target Microsoft sites such as MSN or Hotmail. According to the article, Microsoft has helped take down over 4,744 phishing sites worldwide, and filed more than 117 lawsuits against phishers in U.S. courts. It should be interesting to see how they do in the international arena. Full story at c|net: Microsoft to fight phishers in Europe.

More from The Register, which reports that Microsoft is cracking down on phishers. There are cases against phishers in Turkey, France, Spain, Morocco, the UK, Germany, Austria, Egypt, and Sweden. Full story: MS lawsuits aim to reel in phishers.

ZDNet Australia reports that the Spam Act of 2003 has had a significant effect on spam originating from Australia, causing Australia to drop from 10th to 23rd place on the international spam list. Full story: Anti-spam legislation effective, claims ACMA. Note the prominant mentions of Telstra.

ICANN is meeting in New Zealand this week. Communications Minister David Cunliffe opened the conference with a call for international agreements to combat email spam. Read The Age article NZ seeks agreement to fight net spam for more.