Spammers not stopped by Swedish laws
Swedish anti-spamming laws have not led to a single successful prosecution, despite authorities receiving 72,121 complaints about unsolicited emails, the country's official consumer watchdog has said.
Sending spam emails has been a criminal offence in Sweden for the past three years, but in only one case has a spammer faced legal proceedings. In this case a gaming company was threatened with fines, but the case was dropped after the company promised to mend its ways, Computer Sweden reports.
Only 11 other companies have been contacted by the Swedish Consumer Agency, and none of them have faced legal action.
The Swedish Consumer Agency says it has been unable to take up most cases, as it can only act when the sender is based in Sweden. Most spam that comes into Swedish inboxes is sent from outside the country, including an increasing number of so-called 'phishing' emails.
In these emails, written in Swedish, bank customers have been asked to enter account details, which has led to a number of people finding money stolen from their accounts.
Swedish companies contacted by the agency after sending unsolicited email usually agree to stop sending, spokeswoman Agneta Broberg told Computer Sweden.
According to UK-based Spamhaus, 200 senders account for 80 percent of spam received in Europe and the United States, Dagens Nyheter reports.
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Sending spam emails has been a criminal offence in Sweden for the past three years, but in only one case has a spammer faced legal proceedings. In this case a gaming company was threatened with fines, but the case was dropped after the company promised to mend its ways, Computer Sweden reports.
Only 11 other companies have been contacted by the Swedish Consumer Agency, and none of them have faced legal action.
The Swedish Consumer Agency says it has been unable to take up most cases, as it can only act when the sender is based in Sweden. Most spam that comes into Swedish inboxes is sent from outside the country, including an increasing number of so-called 'phishing' emails.
In these emails, written in Swedish, bank customers have been asked to enter account details, which has led to a number of people finding money stolen from their accounts.
Swedish companies contacted by the agency after sending unsolicited email usually agree to stop sending, spokeswoman Agneta Broberg told Computer Sweden.
According to UK-based Spamhaus, 200 senders account for 80 percent of spam received in Europe and the United States, Dagens Nyheter reports.
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