Legal Question in Technology Law in California
My inbox keeps getting spammed
I recevived about 12 messages that were infected with a virus. I have been getting these messages since Sunday afternoon. I did not give my email out to anyone. I cannot find the ip address of the offender. When I type in the username I keep getting username not found. What type of legal action can I take?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: My inbox keeps getting spammed
There is not much you can do if you don't know who to sue.
The fact is that litigation is so expensive that it is unlikely to be worthwhile in any case. However, I have sued a number of spammers, and maybe I can tell you who is sending this stuff to you. Can you forward the headers to me by email? (I don't need the virus, thanks.)
Re: My inbox keeps getting spammed
Because the person or persons from whom you are receiving these viruses probably is a victim themselves, it makes little sense to sue them. Even if you can track down the original source of the virus, your damages suffered will probably be outweighed by the cost of the litigation. I would recommend a non-legal solution of using some virus / spam software instead.
By the way, most experts in this field do not consider viruses and spam (unsolicited commercial email) to be the same thing, and would probably disagree with your use of the term "spammed" in reference to receiving unwanted virus emails.