Hotmail shuts down "spammers" who don't spam

Exclusive: Hotmail shuts down "spammers" who don't spam

Complain you got spam from a Hotmail user, and Hotmail's abuse team will shut down their account, no questions asked.

Ido Kenan

Hotmail.com shuts down Hotmail accounts shortly after receiving complaints about spam being sent from them, without checking if the user has actually sent spam, NRG Maariv has learned. Thus, malicious users can cause the shutting down of accounts, as an act of revenge or just for kicks.

In its haste to fight spam, Hotmail has foregone looking into abuse reports it gets from email users. In three instances documented by NRG Maariv, Hotmail's abuse team shut down Hotmail accounts less than 24 hours after receiving complaints about spam being sent from them, even though the spam mail clearly did not originate from those accounts.

In two of the instances, the spammers spoofed the sender's address so it looked like it was sent from a Hotmail account, while they were actually sent through an Israeli ISP. In both instances, the spoofed accounts were shut down.

The third instance was a test: NRG Maariv opened a new account with Hotmail and sent no email whatsoever from it. Using a different email, we filed a spam complaint, saying it came from the new Hotmail account. Attached were Internet headers from an old spam, where the sender's address was replaced with that of the new account.

Within less than 24 hours, we received a message saying the new account was shut down.

"My name is Claire, and from what I have read in your message, you are complaining about the unsolicited email you received from a Hotmail account", said the message written by Claire C. with MSN Hotmail Technical Support. "I have closed the account you reported in accordance with the Hotmail Terms of Use (TOU). It is a strict violation of the TOU for our members to send objectionable material of any kind or nature using our service".

Trying to log on to the Hotmail account, we found it closed. No explanation was provided, just a laconic message saying "Account Closed. Access Denied". No appeal procedure was mentioned. The account was shut down for good.

Hotmail's public relations representative, Waggener Edstrom, has yet to respond to the story.

http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fus ... cleID=8904

 

I'm glad I use gmail.

 

I only have a Hotmail account so I can use Messenger once in a blue moon. They've shut down too many of my accounts in the past for me to keep bothering with them.

 

You can still use an account for messenger even if it's been shut-down email wise... (dis-activated, not closed) so what would your account for that be? :-D

 

Why do people complain to hotmail? I mean...not every spammer even uses a hotmail acount...

I think there are a bunch of retards out there who probably shouldn't even have an e-mail...because they are so computer illiterate...

 

I'm not sure if it's fuck_off_and_die_matt@hotmail.com or eat_shit_gay_boy@hotmail.com.

 

It might be both...

 

Spammer is nothing new. Junk mail the mailman bring to you house was the forefather of spammer. I just delete the spam mail. I think MS is overreacting again.

 

I read somewhere alot of the latest worms and virus that hit computer around the world was than effect by spammer to use other people computer to sent spam mail to other people without the owner premmission.

 

*confiscates gravedigging shovel*

Nice to see ye, Charles .

 

There is million of dollar to be make senting spam mail to peopl;e who donot want it. Than AOL worker was arrest for given than spammer screenname of AOL customer. He was paid I believe 250,000 dollar for the list.

 

Wow, who needs to work, just sell out emails.

 

i used to help my dad set up servers that were soley devoted to sending out spam... we made a pretty penny doing it, too. not that it was my dad's spam business... he was just the techy.

 

I never get spam on hot mail. They send out your email to companies, and there's a checkbox that lets you stop them.

 

What?? No gay porn adds?
What's your email, Wolf? We'll fix that right away!

 

DotD, every time I read a post from you it makes me want to slaughter legions of innocent puppies.* Anyway, Jar, I tried both those emails, and neither one worked. :\ Oh, and I don't get spam, but that's because part of my email address is intentionally mis-spelled... making it hard for a computer to guess it. ^_^ .


*yes, I *do* know I stole that from Anman, I just wanted to make that pathetic bastard useful for once

 

By masturbating your female parts??

Remember, everytime you masturbate, God kills a kitten. (Or a puppy if you're a chick.)

You're starting to do what you accuse Death of having done. Flaming him at each post is starting to get old. Stop, or I will crush your foot with my dick.

 

I also fail to see where the o in DotD comes from.

 

Sorry, that should be DatD, but outta instinct I put an "o." I'm just incredibly annoyed by DatD... he just... bugs me... kinda like Anman... except that I can flame Anman without having to deal with crotchity, bitter bastards.

 

It's spelt crotchety.

As for this part:

I can chuck in at least half a dozen names there instead of Death's, and only one of them would be yours. Maybe now you understand how everyone else on this board feels about you.