MICROSOFT AND NEW YORK ANNOUNCE ANTI-SPAM LAWSUITS, 2003-12-18 (photo)

Brad Smith (L), senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announce December 18, 2003 in New York that as a result of a six month investigation and collaboration, they have filed parallel lawsuits against a New York based spamming ring allegedly responsible for sending billions of illegal and deceptive emails. Attorney General Spitzer and Microsoft united in legal actions against Synergy6, Inc., an email marketing company based in New York City, and Scott Richter, the world's 3rd largest spammer, according to ROKSO, the Register of Known Spam Operations listed on spamhaus.org, an anti-spam and consumer advocacy organization. REUTERS/Jeff Christensen JC