The U.S. government has made a series of arrests against major purveyors of email spam, according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), which partly funded the investigation code-named "Slam Spam". In a statement the association said the Justice Department spent a year on the investigation which was designed to "engender greater trust and comfort in legitimate e-mail communications". Dozens of people were arrested, said the DMA, which added that Attorney General John Ashcroft would announce further details in an official press conference scheduled for Thursday. The more than 100 arrests represent the first major sanctions under a law passed by Congress last December criminalizing fraudulent and deceptive e-mail practices. According to The New York Times the new cases also involve charges of credit card fraud, identity theft, computer crime, virus-spreading and other offences that carry significant penalties. The investigation was carried out by a joint task force made up of federal law enforcement officials and investigators working for industries that do business through the Internet. The Direct Marketing Association said it funded the effort to promote "legitimate use of email marketing."
