BT's internet service came under fire this week after it emerged
that the company has failed to stop one of its customers' computer
systems deluging hundreds of businesses with spam e-mails, despite
two months of repeated complaints.
Business consultant Eleanor Leggett first contacted BT in February
after discovering that a spammer using a BT internet address was
repeatedly re-sending thousands of copies of an e-mail she had
posted previously to raise funds for an Irish children's
charity.
Leggett, who has been inundated with legal threats and abusive
messages from businesses that have been on the receiving end of the
spam, said the problem has left her unable to sleep or to work, and
has seriously disrupted the work of the charity, the Cross Border
Orchestra, which brings Protestant and Catholic children together
to perform concerts.
"I am devastated," she said. "It has preoccupied every waking hour
of my time since 5 February. Every evening and every weekend I
spend trawling through my e-mail. I am getting abusive, nasty
e-mails. It has got to the stage that I cannot face opening the
inbox."
The charity has also been deluged with abusive phone calls from
irate organisations that continue to receive the e-mail.
Although BT has contacted the Hertfordshire firm that appears to be
the source of the forwarded e-mails - and has temporarily disabled
its e-mail address on at least three occasions - the spam shows no
sign of letting up.
Leggett said she is "disgusted" by the failure of BT to solve the
problem, despite more than two months' of complaints.
Her own internet service company, Energis, which has written to BT
to highlight the problem, has also raised questions about the time
BT is taking to put a stop to the spam.
"We have a dedicated network integrity team to deal with these
kinds of complaints," a spokesman for Energis said. "It is
surprising that BT has been unable to remedy this particular
problem."
BT is understood to be working on the theory that its customer's
computer system has been hijacked by a malicious hacker who may
have taken exception to the original fund-raising e-mail.
Investigators have told Leggett that its e-mail server had not been
properly secured.
"We have spoken to the customer, who assured us they would try to
resolve the matter. This does not appear to have happened, though
we do believe they acted in good faith and tried to resolve the
problem. We have gone back to the customer to advise them the
problem is recurring and we have asked them to investigate," said a
BT spokesman.
"Clearly this is a problem that is originating from something that
is outside of our control in that we do not have any access to this
person's computer set-up. But everyone involved does appear to be
acting responsibly and reasonably."
