Legal action launched against alleged spammer

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The Department of Internal Affairs has launched legal action against an alleged spammer.

Its Anti-Spam Compliance Unit has lodged a statement of claim in the High Court in Auckland, alleging Australian man Wayne Mansfield sent unsolicited emails to promote business and marketing seminars he was holding in New Zealand.

It is alleged emails were also aimed at inviting the recipients to buy tickets to Mr Mansfield's business and marketing seminars.

The recipients had not consented to receiving the emails.

The maximum fine for an individual for breaches of the Act by sending unsolicited commercial emails is $200,000.