NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Dozens of arrests of people charged with crimes related to junk e-mail, identity theft and other online scams will be announced Thursday, according to a published report.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that the arrests have been made quietly over the last few weeks. The crackdown effort, funded in part by Direct Marketing Association, a trade group that wants to promote what it sees as the legitimate use of e-mail marketing, is to be announced by Attorney General John Ashcroft, according to the newspaper.
Congress passed a law in December criminalizing fraudulent and deceptive e-mail practices, subjecting spammers to fines and jail terms of up to five years. But the newspaper said the law has done little to stem spam to this point. Spam represents 65 percent of all e-mail, up from 58 percent in December, according to Symantec, maker of a popular spam filter.
The report said many of the cases were developed by an unusual investigative team that combined federal law enforcement officials and executives from Internet businesses.
The newspaper said prosecutors had hoped to announce some prominent convictions earlier this summer, but said the cases have proven to be more complex than expected.
The operation built a database of known spammers, drawing from both law enforcement agencies and private companies that are bringing civil suits against some of the biggest users of junk e-mail messages.
It also deployed online decoys to catch spammers and purchased products advertised in spam messages so that the financial records could be traced to the company benefiting from the spam.
Some people arrested will not have their names revealed at the news conference this week because those first suspects are leading them to others involved in spam and other crimes, the Times reported.
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