6.5 Other Criminal Enforcement Provisions
There are a number of other federal statutes, the violation of which may trigger
criminal penalties. The most well-known statutes are summarized below:
Name
Code sections
Actions targeted
Criminal penalty
CAN-SPAM Act 15
U.S.C. §§7703–7704
(1) knowingly accessing
a protected computer
275
(2) using a protected
computer to transmit
commercial e-mails with
the intent to deceive or
mislead recipients about
their origin
276 (3) falsifying header information
277 (4) registering
5 or more email accounts
or 2 or more domain
names using false identity information and
sending commercial
email there from
278
(5) falsely representing
oneself as being as being
the legitimate registrant
of 5 of more internet
addresses and sending
multiple commercial
emails there from
279
Punishable by fines and
prison terms from one to
5 years incarceration
and confiscation of any
real or personal property
purchased through spam
earnings. The criminal
penalties may be
increased if the crime is
perpetuated by fraudulent activity
280
Computer Fraud
and Abuse Act
(CFFA)
18 U.S.C. §1030(C)
(1) computer trespassing
a government computer
281 (2) computer
trespassing resulting in
exposure of governmental, credit, financial, or
computer-housed
Penalties range from
imprisonment for not
more than a year for
simple cyberspace
trespassing to a maximum of life imprisonment when death results
(continued)
275 18 U.S.C. § 1037(a)(1).
276 18 U.S.C. § 1037(a)(2).
277 18 U.S.C. § 1037(a)(3).
278 18 U.S.C. § 1037(a)(4).
279 18 U.S.C. § 1037(a)(5).
280 18 U.S.C. § 1037.
281 18 U.S.C. 1030(a)(3).
446
S. M. Boyne