Amazon sues bogus spammers for millions

Amazon.com has filed 11 lawsuits against spammers who allegedly used its name when sending bogus email, in charges that echo a widening problem for companies operating online.

The web retailer filed federal lawsuits in the US and Canada aiming to bar 11 internet marketers from sending email forgeries with Amazon's name. It is seeking millions of dollars in punitive damages.

The company is also working with the New York Attorney General's office to identify alleged spammers. The state law enforcement office said it settled civil fraud charges with one forger, Cyebye.com, which was named in Amazon's suit. Amazon has reached a similar settlement in principle with Cyebye.

The suits are part of an initiative at Amazon to thwart email forgeries of its name, or what's known as "spoofing". Email spoofing is the practice of concealing the email senders' identity with that of a third party in order to make the email more desirable to open and to deflect the ability to trace the sender.

David Zapolsky, Amazon's associate general counsel, said in a statement: "Spoofing is a problem faced by any company with a trusted domain name that uses email to communicate with its customers."

"It's not just spam; it's consumer fraud. And the actions taken today by Amazon and by the state of New York will send a strong message to anyone engaged in this conduct that it will not be tolerated," he said.

Among the 11 defendants are EBA Wholesale (Cyebye.com), an appliance retailer that promoted its home appliances through email appearing to come from Amazon. This suit has been settled.

Other defendants include Rockin Time Holdings, a company promoting penis enlargement; Royal Responder; and Cyberpower, which offered a get-rich-quick scheme.

Stefanie Olsen writes for CNET News.com