Yahoo Suit Targets Lottery Scammers

Yahoo is suing a group of unidentified spammers who’ve sent emails claiming to be from the "Yahoo International Lottery Organization," soliciting personal information and sometimes money from purported lottery winners. Yahoo is seeking damages for fraudulent use of its trademarks, but it might prove hard to identify the scammers, especially if they’re located outside the US, PC World reports.

Using email accounts from Go Daddy, EarthLink and others, the spammers sent emails saying recipients had won prizes in US dollars or British pounds, and sometimes asked for money before sending the fictitious jackpot. The suit, filed May 16 in federal court in New York, seeks forfeit of profits and other damages. (More Yahoo stories.)