BOL Geek Blog

A New Law to Reduce Spam and Fraud

On December 22, 2006 the US SAFE WEB Act (S. 1608, "Undertaking Spam, Spyware, and Fraud Enforcement With Enforcers beyond Borders Act of 2006") was signed into law. This is meant to empower the FTC so that they may more aggressively protect U.S. consumers and businesses from cross-border fraud and deception, especially in the form of spam and spyware.

1. The FTC will be able to share confidential information with foreign law enforcement agencies.
   
2. The FTC can assist foreign law enforcement agencies in their investigations and for discovery.
   
3. The law provides that FTC information from foreign law enforcement agencies will be protected from disclosure.
   
4. The FTC will be on the list of financial and market regulators allowed to share information under the Right to Financial Privacy Act.
   
5. This allows more cooperation between the FTC and DOJ in foreign litigation.
   

US SAFE WEB Act Public Law No: 109-455

Some seasonal shopping highlights from Amazon:

• Dec. 11, 2006 was a peak day with more than 4 million orders.
  
• 99 percent of the orders were shipped in time for holiday delivery to over 200 countries.
  
• Up to 3.4 million units were shipped in a single day.
  
• With a "blue light special" on X Box 360s, they sold 1,000 in 29 seconds.
  
• 1,000 Axion portable DVD players were sold in 34 seconds.
  
• Customers ordered enough orange-flavored Airborne cold-fighting supplements to supply every passenger on 192 Boeing 747 planes.
  
• Amazon sold its most expensive MP3 player to date in 2006, the $19,999 Trekstor i.Beat Organix Gold 1GB MP3 player.
  
• Best electronic sellers:
  
  • iPods,
    
  • Canon's Powershot Digital Elph cameras, and
    
  • Garmin's Global Positioning System for navigation.
    
• Other best sellers:
  
  • DVD - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
    
  • DVD - Cars
    
  • Book - Barack Obama's "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream", and
    
  • Book - Mehmet C. Oz and Michael F. Roizen, "You: On a Diet."
    
• The last Prime order placed on December 22nd in time for Christmas delivery contained a Bogen-Manfrotto Classic Tripod (Silver) delivered to Norman, Oklahoma on December 23rd.
  

When you hear from the BSA, you know it isn't good.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) announced Tuesday December 12, 2006, that Payless ShoeSource Inc. and Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp. agreed to pay $425,000 to settle claims they used unlicensed software.

Burlington agreed to pay $300,000 for using unlicensed software from Microsoft and McAfee. Payless is shoeing out $124,000 as it had unlicensed software from Adobe Systems Inc., Autodesk Inc., Borland Software Corp., Security Systems Inc., Symantec Corp. and McAfee.

Burlington's chief information officer said they are enhancing their software management policy as a result. Both companies must delete the unlicensed versions and purchase the software they want to use.

The BSA accepts tips on its web site as a key method to finding violators. They represent many software companies and enforce the licensing agreements. They emphasize with these and other actions that it is more expensive to use unlicensed software than to obtain and use it legally.

Banks have settled with the BSA in the past. Software management should be present in an ongoing state in all banks.