Microsoft has filed 117 lawsuits against unnamed defendants in a massive anti-phishing litigation action the company hopes will expose some of the largest phishing scammers in cyberspace.
"We must work together to stop these con artists from misusing the Internet as a tool for fraud," said Microsoft Internet safety enforcement attorney Aaron Kornblum in a formal statement announcing the lawsuits, filed in federal court in Washington state March 31.
The suits accuse the John Doe defendants of using mass e-mail and pop-up ads to coerce consumers into giving up personal information like bank account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers, and more.
Phishing scams involve online communications made to resemble those of legitimate organizations, using a perception of actual trusted relationships between the purported institution or business and the intended victims.
Microsoft announced the lawsuits flanked by members of the Federal Trade Commission and the National Consumers League. NCL National Fraud Information Center and Internet Fraud Watch director Susan Grant called phishing “more than a dirty trick played on unsuspecting consumers, it’s a serious identity theft problem.”
