OFT begins global spam sweep

The OFT has teamed up with other government agencies around the world to carry out a co-ordinated clamp-down on spammers, concluding its month long awareness campaign. As part of the International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network and London Action Plan, the OFT conducted an Internet sweep focusing on scams communicated in spam emails.

Spam is an increasingly frequent problem, accounting for more than 70% of all email traffic, up from just 10% four years ago. Around eight in ten spam emails received in the UK come from overseas, a fact that emphasises the need for international co-operation on the issue.

“Spam gets in the way of legitimate e-commerce and is often a vehicle for scams,” commented Christine Wade, Director of Consumer Regulation Enforcement at the OFT and ICPEN president. “International collaboration by enforcement agencies, the efforts of the computer and communications industries, and smart consumers at home - who take steps to protect themselves - are all needed to combat the internet scammers.”

“Deceptive Spam affects everyone with an email address. Scams by spam can be reduced if we educate consumers to protect themselves against any fraudulent claims found in Spam messages,” added Raymond Pierce, Deputy Commissioner of Competition at the Canadian Competition Bureau.

Conference focuses on cyber crime

Cyber crimes carried out in the online gambling sector are developing in a similar fashion to those frequently suffered in the Internet banking industry with attacks becoming increasingly complex and advanced, according to the recent CCC2005 (Combating Cyber Crime in the Betting and Gaming Industry) conference in London.

Advanced hacking attacks, ID verification, credit card fraud and mobile security were among the topics discussed at the conference.

IRM Plc’s Chief Technology Officer, Phil Robinson, who spoke about ways to avoid risks in the online gambling sector at the event, commented; “The conference was a real eye-opener to the delegates as it raised awareness of e-crime in their sector and drew parallels with some of the threats seen in the online banking arena that they too could be exposed to.”

Broadband boost for Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has become the second region of the UK, following London, to have all of its exchanges adapted for broadband, it has been announced. The advancement, involving 191 exchanges, brings the technology to an impressive 98.5% of the region’s population.

Mr Barry Gardiner, DETI Minister commented;" Northern Ireland now has a first-class telecommunications infrastructure, allowing our businesses to compete in the global marketplace and enabling all citizens to make full use of the possibilities of the internet."

"This is a truly fantastic occasion for everyone in Northern Ireland; we have led Europe in the charge of the roll out of broadband and contributed to the UK achieving its status of having the most extensive market in the G7,” said Bill Murphy, Managing Director of BT Regions.

The North East of England is set to follow Northern Ireland and London with a full broadband rollout later this week, when the region’s final 12 exchanges are ADSL equipped.

Wandsworth call centre progresses

Wandsworth Council has announced details of the successfully completed first phase of its new call centre project, which is the first of its kind in the UK public sector. The project involved taking an existing multi-vendor, multi-application IT and telecoms environment across multiple departments and transforming it into a customer-facing service delivery call handling centre.

Developed by Logicalis and using various software from Rostrvm, the new call centre is designed to exceed the public access key performance indicators as laid down in the UK’s national Government Charter Mark standard.

“Customer focus is a key objective of the Council, as is the delivery of a quality service at the lowest cost. This new unified call handling system, should achieve both objectives,” said Ann Smith, Head of Council Tax & Benefits.

“The new system gives the service flexibility that was previously missing. Customers have options to either wait in a queue or have the Council call them back. This facility is popular and gives the Council greater flexibility.”

EU and Asia unite against spam

The European Union and various Asian governments have agreed to participate in a joint initiative against spam email, it was revealed at the recent Asia-Europe (ASEM) ecommerce conference. The 25 EU member states and 13 Asian-based authorities pledged under the agreement to increase their anti-spam procedures nationally and internationally, with an industry-specific focus. The event emphasised the threat that spam places on successful ecommerce, by undermining consumer confidence.

Asian partners in the scheme include China and South Korea, reputedly the sources of major global spamming activity. Experts estimate that around 20% of the world’s spam email originates from those countries.

“I welcome this important EU-Asia statement on spam,” said Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding.

“The EU cannot act alone in the fight against spam as it is essentially borderless. It is crucial that the problem be taken seriously in every part of the world and in particular in regions where a lot of spam is reported to originate,” she added.

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