Whining for 'Accountability'

[Damaged Justice]

   Net crime begs questions: Who to call?
   By [38]Janet Kornblum
   August 5, 1997, 8:00 p.m. PT
   
   On June 10, out of the blue, Bruce Hovland's business phone started
   ringing off the hook. The people calling weren't happy.
   
   They all demanded to know the same thing: How did they get on his
   mailing list? They also insisted, not always nicely, that he not send
   them the pornography he had apparently promised them in an email. They
   didn't order any porn, they said.
   
   Hovland doesn't send out pornography for a living, and he hadn't sent
   angry callers any email, either.
   
   In fact, Hovland is a Florida businessman who rents out an inland
   marina and markets various products like construction materials, none
   of which have anything to do with porn, email, or the Internet. He
   surfs for educational reasons and sometimes sends mail, but that's
   about it.
   
   According to Hovland, he is a victim of a crime. Someone--he thinks he
   knows who--sent out an email to possibly thousands of people telling
   them that "in 48 hours your credit card will be charged $184.80" for
   three adult videos. Recipients were then told they could not reply by
   email but "If we do not hear from you within 48 hours, we will assume
   everything is correct and make the charge to your card."
   
   The email supplied contact numbers, all belonging to Hovland. Perhaps
   adding insult to injury, the email said "you may call collect you if
   you wish."
   
   Hovland estimates there were thousands of calls from everywhere. "I've
   been pretty much threatened from all corners of the world," he said.
   He added he reported the incident to the local sheriff's department
   and to the [39]FBI and Secret Service.
   
   "I think I've been internationally defamed. I'm known worldwide as a
   porn dealer."
   
   But that's not even the part that bothers him the most: Hovland said
   this incident alerted him to the fact that there's no place to deal
   specifically with Internet crimes. Now, he wants to do something about
   it.
   
   "I believe that the entity, the Internet, is accountable. The freedom
   of it is what makes it so great, but they need to police it. They need
   to have 911 [for the] Internet."
   
   He's already gotten support from one person: Philip Kirschner, a law
   student who received the spam and called Hovland to cancel the order.
   Kirschner is helping to mount a campaign for legislation or some sort
   of task force.
   
   Hovland said he and a friend started tracing the email spam. With some
   luck, he explained, he figured out that it came from a wanted man who
   had fled the country and left his boat and car at Hovland's marina
   without paying rent. Hovland eventually sold the goods, but catching
   the alleged culprit is a different story; suing him would be nearly
   impossible.
   
   Hovland said he's lost two weeks worth of work. But he noted it could
   have been a lot worse: Someone could have directed the spam victims to
   a hospital switchboard or some other business that counts on their
   phones to help save lives.
   
   "Anyone can be a victim, whether you're an Internet user or not. If a
   guy can be in a foreign country and pinpoint his harassment and maybe
   be unprosecutable, there's a major problem. International harassment
   via the Internet can be an extremely volatile thing. It's a lot more
   serious than some fat white guy in Florida getting harassed."
   
   Now he hopes the spam and his experience will lead to something
   bigger, maybe even a movement that speaks for the average person who
   winds up being a victim of a Net crime.
   
   "A regular businessman in this society can be victimized at the point
   of a mouse," Hovland said. "They could literally put me out of
   business if they continued. It's bizarre."
   
    related news stories
    • [40]CNET Special Feature: Dark side of the Web July 18, 1997
    • [41]Laws of cyberland April 25, 1997
    • [42]CNET Special Report: Crime on the Net February 7, 1997
    • [43]States mull harassment laws January 31, 1997
    • [44]States fight harassment December 16, 1996
    • [45]FBI in Net porn probe December 12, 1996
   
  38. mailto:janetk at cnet.com
  39. http://www.fbi.gov/
  40. http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,12590,00.html
  41. http://www.news.com/SpecialFeatures/0,5,10040,00.html
  42. http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,7754,00.html
  43. http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,7550,00.html
  44. http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,6262,00.html
  45. http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,6157,00.html