AOL Gives Away Porsche Seized From Spammer

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March 30, 2004 (9:30 AM EST)

America Online on Tuesday unveiled a sweepstakes to tout its success in fighting spam: the Dulles, Va.-based Internet provider will give away a Porsche seized from a spammer.

The two-door 2002 Porsche Boxster S Cabriolet was confiscated from a spammer as a result of one of the five lawsuits filed by America Online (AOL) in April 2003 against spammers identified by its subscribers using the service's "Report Spam" feature, the company said.

"AOL has always placed our members in the driver's seat when it comes to spam fighting, and now we're going to put one of our members in the driver's seat of a spammer's sports car," said Randall Boe, AOL's general counsel in a statement. "We see this as a great way to teach spammers a lesson, and reward our members for their continued use of the 'Report Spam' button."

Virginia's anti-spam statute, which went into effect on July 1, 2003, gives the state's law enforcement agencies the right to seize spammers' assets, even if the spammer resides outside Virginia. The new national CAN-SPAM Act, which came into play January 1, 2004, also lets the federal government grab spammers' assets in criminal prosecutions.

The sweepstakes began Tuesday and runs through April 8, and is open to legal residents of the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia who are 18 years and older, and who are members of AOL. Members must complete an online entry form by going to the AOL keywords "Spam" or "Spamfighters."

AOL will randomly select the winner of the Porsche on April 9.

AOL has been aggressively pursuing spammers in the courts, either on its own or in conjunction with other Internet providers. Earlier this month, for instance, AOL joined forces with Microsoft, Yahoo, and Earthlink to announce half a dozen new lawsuits against more than 200 spammers under the CAN-SPAM Act.