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February 12, 2005

Why Viagra spam isn't going away

Make no mistake. The recent legal attack from Pfizer and Microsoft on "international spam rings" isn't really about fighting junk email. It's about brand and patent protection for Pfizer. It says so right in the press release.

Pfizer is primarily targeting two entities: CanadianPharmacy, (formerly?) doing business at http://www.cndpharmacy.com, and E-Pharmacy Direct, (formerly?) doing business at http://www.myepharmacydirect.com.

Neither of the online pharmacies are listed in the Spamhaus Register of Known Spam Operations. So I doubt they are truly a major source of "Viagra" spam. Nor are there more than a handful of spam reports in the "Sightings" newsgroup (news.admin.net-abuse.sightings) for the two sites.

The press release makes clear that Pfizer's concern is that these sites are selling illegal generic versions of Viagra. Would Pfizer be so aggressive if the companies were spamming the real thing (i.e., if Pfizer was getting a cut of their sales)?

Microsoft also added CAN-SPAM lawsuits against EzyDrugStore.com, DiscountRX.com and Virtual RX.com. They're not listed on ROKSO either.

So, how is this a big salvo in the war on Viagra spam?

Posted by brian at February 12, 2005 8:44 PM