ACMA Response, a start

Monday March 7, I have received a response to case #84234 which was the response to a response that I sent. A good start but reading the email below my reply to ACMA really only informs me of what i had already told ACMA In an email that I blogged on the 3rd of march!

http://davidbarnes.platforminteractive.com.au/2011/03/acma-communications-can-we-improve.html

My response to ACMA's current email response is below. What I really wanted to know and what I think is important here is how can we do something about all of this SPAM and are we being supported by our Government?

Hi Debbie,

Thank you for your response.

My main concern is how do these people get tracked down and fined? Is this something your department deals with or is it just now a cost of having email and doing business.

Are there tools ACMA suggests that we use to block / ban list this type of behaviour?

Thanks

David

-----Original Message-----
From: [mailto:complaints@spamcrm.acma.gov.au]
Sent: Monday, 7 March 2011 11:29 AM
To: David Barnes
Subject: [spamcrm.acma.gov.au #84234] ACMA Email Complaint - Email Spoofing

Dear Mr Barnes,

I refer to your recent enquiry regarding the emails appearing to be sent from

yourself.

As you are aware, it appears that someone may be faking or “spoofing” your

email address for the purpose of sending spam emails. In this situation, the

spammer will fake some or most of an email’s header information, in order to

hide their identity and the email’s originating path. In most cases, these

emails are found to have originated from overseas.

This type of attack is usually opportunistic and automated, and is relatively

common. It is a method that spammers have created to bypass spam filters. Most

likely, your email address was obtained through the use of email ‘harvesting’

software.

You should ensure that your computer is running up-to-date anti-virus and

firewall software, and that you have downloaded the latest security updates for

your computer’s operating system and other software.

If you find that your contacts are also receiving the spam, you may wish to

take precautions in securing your email account, as this may indicate that your

account has been compromised. If you feel this is the case, we recommend you

change your passwords to something that is difficult to guess, and change any

associated security questions and answers (if your service provides this). You

may also wish to report this to your email service provider’s support or

security team.

If you have any further enquiries regarding this matter, please contact me by

return email.

Yours sincerely,

Debbie

Anti-Spam Team

Australian Communications & Media Authority