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Saturday
March 13, 2010 Since 1922 |
What happens to spammers, scammers
By Aaron Barbee
Contributor Published September 26, 2009 In breaking the bad news to customers about scammers and spammers (those nice guys who want to shower us with money through e-mail), usually one of a few statements come out of my customer’s mouths. Sometimes they ask to be put in a room with the scammer, often the customer asks why we can’t find and prosecute these guys, and every so often I hear disbelief that people actually fall for this sort of thing.
Unfortunately most of these crooks do get away most of the time. They’re often in other countries where it’s difficult to find them, much less prosecute and convict them. The fact is that some spammers and online scammers do get caught eventually. While often they get a slap on the wrist or some jail time, sometimes they get a heart-warming major fine or conviction.
This brings us to Richard Neiswonger. Neiswonger is being prosecuted in Las Vegas for deceiving consumers with false promises that they could make hundreds of thousands of dollars by selling an “asset protection service” to those wanting to hide assets from potential lawsuits or creditors. He’s been in trouble since 1997 because of the types of scams he’s been running. He’s been prohibited from promoting any sort of such “program” because he’s been failing to disclose certain facts about the scheme to potential consumers.
In April of 2007 the Federal Trade Commission levied a $3.2 million dollar fine against him, and he’s been ordered to give up the title to his home and other assets he’s built up over the years. So far, Neiswonger hasn’t complied and is now facing jail time if he doesn’t give up the assets.
While this is a good step in the right direction, I think it’s far too lenient. I think that scammers and spammers should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law automatically. Even though they aren’t a detrimental threat to someone’s life, they are very likely to offend again if not put in jail. I say lock them up for a very long time and don’t give them access to anything they could possibly use to continue scamming or spamming. They should have all their assets taken away right off the bat. These guys are causing major havoc out there and must be stopped.
Although, we can skip the entire legal process and introduce them to some of the victims. In a not-so-unrelated note, one of the major spammers in Russia was found dead in his apartment a good while back. Of course I don’t excuse such acts, but it sure does make you ponder.
Check out my Web site www.TexasComputerGuru.com for supplemental information and previous articles as well.
Aaron Barbee owns Texas Computer Guru, a local computer services company for on-site business and residential needs. He can be contacted at 281-628-5099. E-mail questions for Aaron to sunnews(at)baytownsun.com
Contributor Published September 26, 2009 In breaking the bad news to customers about scammers and spammers (those nice guys who want to shower us with money through e-mail), usually one of a few statements come out of my customer’s mouths. Sometimes they ask to be put in a room with the scammer, often the customer asks why we can’t find and prosecute these guys, and every so often I hear disbelief that people actually fall for this sort of thing.
Unfortunately most of these crooks do get away most of the time. They’re often in other countries where it’s difficult to find them, much less prosecute and convict them. The fact is that some spammers and online scammers do get caught eventually. While often they get a slap on the wrist or some jail time, sometimes they get a heart-warming major fine or conviction.
This brings us to Richard Neiswonger. Neiswonger is being prosecuted in Las Vegas for deceiving consumers with false promises that they could make hundreds of thousands of dollars by selling an “asset protection service” to those wanting to hide assets from potential lawsuits or creditors. He’s been in trouble since 1997 because of the types of scams he’s been running. He’s been prohibited from promoting any sort of such “program” because he’s been failing to disclose certain facts about the scheme to potential consumers.
In April of 2007 the Federal Trade Commission levied a $3.2 million dollar fine against him, and he’s been ordered to give up the title to his home and other assets he’s built up over the years. So far, Neiswonger hasn’t complied and is now facing jail time if he doesn’t give up the assets.
While this is a good step in the right direction, I think it’s far too lenient. I think that scammers and spammers should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law automatically. Even though they aren’t a detrimental threat to someone’s life, they are very likely to offend again if not put in jail. I say lock them up for a very long time and don’t give them access to anything they could possibly use to continue scamming or spamming. They should have all their assets taken away right off the bat. These guys are causing major havoc out there and must be stopped.
Although, we can skip the entire legal process and introduce them to some of the victims. In a not-so-unrelated note, one of the major spammers in Russia was found dead in his apartment a good while back. Of course I don’t excuse such acts, but it sure does make you ponder.
Check out my Web site www.TexasComputerGuru.com for supplemental information and previous articles as well.
Aaron Barbee owns Texas Computer Guru, a local computer services company for on-site business and residential needs. He can be contacted at 281-628-5099. E-mail questions for Aaron to sunnews(at)baytownsun.com