October 03, 2008, 10:41 AM — A precedent has now been set in South Africa. Repeat spam offenders are now on notice. Spammers now have a price on their heads and their names on a Wall of Shame. It would be nice, if this was a sign of things to come for other countries to place bounties on spammers.
Jani Meyer of the Sunday Tribune reports that a South African Spammer Bounty Hunter Programme offers multiple rewards. There are 3 ways anyone can receive a reward for providing Information that leads to successful prosecution:
* 7,500 Rands ($958.00) is paid if a spammer admits guilt.
* 15,000 Rands ($1,916.00) if a spammer is convicted in the magistrate’s court.
* 30,000 Rands ($3,831.00) bounty is paid for a conviction in the high court.
Alan Levin, Internet Society of South Africa (ISOC) spokesman, said spam made up more than 70% of monitored e-mail traffic.
He said one of the weaknesses in the current system was that it depended on the recipients to act on the spam they received. Read the rest of this article
