A new law imposing $25,000 a day in fines for spammers may be taking effect in Louisiana Aug, 15, but spammers in that state practically couldn't care less. They've found a way to beat the law: moving offshore.
"I'm offshore now," spammer Robert (Bubba) Catts told the New Orleans Times Picayune, which called it a "rare" interview since Catts went public recently. Rare, the paper said, because ever since he revealed himself to a reporter, his system was hacked.
He told the paper he's paying between $80,000 and $100,000 to Internet service providers overseas, though he won't say where they're located. But the author of the new state law, state representative Eric LaFleur, said offshore locations won't help people like him, because the law targets spam sent from Louisiana or to e-mail addresses based in the state.
"Which means," the Times Picayune said, "any e-mail address used by, charged to, or accessed by a Louisiana resident."
Just how effective the new law will be is still an open question, but LaFleur told the paper he isn't exactly worried. If nothing else, he said, Louisiana's notorious-enough environment for litigation will have plenty enough to do with it. "Some young lawyer," he said, "will put them to the test."
