Actionfraud

[Charles Lindsey]

Saw this on uk.comp.misc. He asks whether it is illegal. Sure seems like
unlawful interception to me.

>Newsgroups: uk.comp.misc
>Subject: Re: Actionfraud
>Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:34:13 +0000
>Organization: Scott family
>Message-ID: <imfkp7$jnn$1 at dont-email.me>

On 24/03/11 09:22, Graham Harrison wrote:
> Not so long ago there were various news items about
> http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/
>
> I decided it wouldn't do any harm to forward them a few scam emails so I
> started doing just that. Then BT (my ISP) decided I was actually sending
> spam. It hasn't stopped me sending ordinary mails but I can no longer
> forward the spam/scam mails. I tried talking to them and their help desk
> initially found it difficult to believe the problem was with their own
> system (it is) and when they finally got it (or said they did) they said
> they couldn't do anything.
>
> So I went to Actionfraud whose response also suggested they didn't
> understand that the problem is at BT and they suggested I print my mails
> and send them to a freepost address.
>
> Has anyone else had any similar experiences?

Yep.  Bethere (as I found out) scan outgoing mails for particular 
strings (that they won't reveal - probably just a list of scam web 
sites) and assume anything containing one is spam. And of course when I 
tried to forward such an email to complain to a (probably) respectable 
ISP about one of their customers, I didn't get very far.

And bethere's front-line CS didn't know. "You're spam-checking my mail" 
"no we're not" "yes you are - escalate the call and find out!" "Oh yes, 
so we are. Tough."

I'm sure it's illegal to do this scanning (it's not even in their T&C's 
that they may/will), although I can understand an ISP's desire not to be 
black-listed.



-- 
Mike Scott (unet2 <at> [deletethis] scottsonline.org.uk)
Harlow Essex England
-- 
Charles H. Lindsey ---------At Home, doing my own thing------------------------
Tel: +44 161 436 6131            Web: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~chl
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