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Gunner
 
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Default OT-for those whom bashed John Lott

Gun Statistics Expert John Lott Victim of Identity Theft
By Jeff Johnson
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.as...03 0804c.html
CNSNews.com Congressional Bureau Chief
August 04, 2003

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Dr. John Lott, resident scholar at the
American Enterprise Institute and author of the most widely cited
research on civilian use of firearms against criminals, has been
targeted by an online identity theft scheme, he disclosed Friday.

Lott operates his own website through which he makes available the raw
data for the research cited in his most famous book "More Guns, Less
Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws."

Running a search for Lott's name on the Google search engine Friday
morning, CNSNews.com found hundreds of links to pages talking about
Lott and dozens of links to pages containing material written by Lott.
The search even, if pursued long enough, yielded a link to Lott's
official web page.

But the Google search also displayed "a sponsored link" for the web
page "AskJohnLott.org."

"Ask John Lott: You can ask him any question you have about gun
control or his books www.askjohnlott.org," the paid advertisement
claimed, followed by a graphic indicator showing high interest in the
website.

The only problem with both the advertisement and the website is that
neither was authorized by Lott.

"I think 90-some percent of people who look at it will probably think
it's done by me," the real Lott told CNSNews.com Friday. "When you
look at the front page, it's not exactly my writing style, but it ...
has my picture, it has a letter on the introductory page that
[purports to be] signed by me."

The former senior researcher at the Yale University School of Law
believes the creator of the website is committing a civil violation,
if not a crime, by appropriating Lott's identity.

"They're using my name, they're taking it and using it in a way that I
don't agree with," Lott said. "I think stealing is what it is."

The home page of the fraudulent site greets visitors with the
salutation, "Dear fellow gun owner."

"I find that gun owners are usually pretty good at keeping themselves
informed about the politics and issues surrounding gun control and gun
rights. However, many of us just don't have the time - or the ability
- to keep abreast of every new twist and turn in the fast-changing -
and confusing - world of politics," the unknown creator of the
fraudulent website writes. "That's why I decided to have this site
made."

The page provides a link to "Click here to ask me a question" and is
signed "John Lott." The biographical information on the "John Lott's
Background" page is mostly accurate, with the exception of an
apparently sarcastic reference to the pseudonym "Mary Rosh," which
Lott began using in Internet chat rooms discussing his work after
receiving harassing and even threatening telephone calls from
participants in the chats.

Lott surprised at 'effort and expense' to discredit him

Lott believes the motivation for some person or organization to create
the fake website is apparent.

"The person or the group, whoever it is that's doing this, wants to
use my name to advance causes with which I disagree, by directly
saying that I support things I don't support" Lott said. "The person
is also using it to try to discredit me in some way, by putting out
into the public debate statements that will be attributed to me that
were not made by me."

Lott believes whoever is responsible for the site must be extremely
angered by his research, considering the cost of designing and
maintaining a website, subscribing to a commercial email response
service and purchasing advertising from the most popular Internet
search engine in the world.

"It's not only the effort, but they've gone to some expense with
regard to this, too," Lott observed. "Some of these ads and stuff that
they've put up ... these are not cheap things to do."

Fake site's creator responds to questions, claims to be Lott

Questions sent using the link provided received an automated response:

"That was a great question. Thanks for taking the time to ask me," the
creator of the fake website wrote. "This email you're receiving right
now is automatic, just to let you know that I know you exist. I will
reply to your email shortly."

The reply went on to falsely imply that Lott had reconsidered his
support of the right of law-abiding individuals to sell personally
owned firearms to other law-abiding citizens without government
permission, repeating claims of "anti-gun lobbyists" and attributing
to Lott the conclusion, "it suddenly appears that maybe we need to
check our assumptions." The email is signed, "Good luck. John Lott."

In other email messages reviewed by CNSNews.com , the unknown author
claiming to be Lott inaccurately stated Lott's position on the
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act currently under
consideration by the Senate. Lott supports the legislation, which
would block lawsuits against gun makers, distributors and dealers when
criminals misuse a lawfully sold firearm.

"This is not John Lott's website," one angry reader familiar with
Lott's true positions wrote to the site's author. "Why are you
pretending to be a website actually run by Dr. Lott?"

The reader was even angrier when he received what he called an
"outrageous" response.

"Why are you pretending not to believe this site? I believe, if you
look at my track record, you'll see that everything i've [sic] done in
my entire career has been upfront and straightforward," the Lott
imposter wrote. "Why have you decided now to question me?"

Again, the email written by the creator of the fraudulent site claimed
to be sent from, "John Lott."

"I've tried talking to the Internet Service Provider to try to get
information on who's running the website and they have been
unhelpful," Lott said. "They basically said that I would have to get a
criminal subpoena to find out who is doing it."

Bogus website operator may be guilty of federal crime

A "whois" database search for the domain name "AskJohnLott.org,"
revealed that it is fraudulently registered to "Mary Rosh" at the
nonexistent "Center for Truth." The alleged organization's mailing
address is listed as "380 Main Street, Washington DC, New York 10012."

When CNSNews.com called the telephone number listed for the domain
registration, an unidentified female answered the phone. When asked
about the website, she placed her hand over the mouthpiece of the
telephone and said, "It's somebody asking about the John Lott website.
What do you want me to tell them?"

A male voice responded, "Just tell them you asked around and no one
really knows anything about it." The female repeated the response as
she had been instructed and terminated the call.

Because the Internet, by its very nature, is an interstate entity,
federal laws govern its civil or criminal misuse. A former Justice
Department attorney, who spoke to CNSNews.com on condition of
anonymity, said the operator of the website may intend it as a "little
prank, but he could be in for a big surprise."

"Fraud by wire, radio, or television" (18 U.S.C. 1343) is a federal
crime:

"Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice
to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or
fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or
causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television
communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs,
signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme
or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned ... or
both."

Depending on the circumstances involved, the crime is punishable by
fines of up to $1,000,000 and imprisoned for up to 30 years.

The former prosecutor said the intentional misappropriation of Lott's
photograph and name, combined with the emailed responses attempting to
convince readers that the site is really run by Lott most likely also
constitute identity theft and could be subject to both criminal and
civil prosecution for those acts, as well.

"This person or persons could end up bankrupt, in jail for years, and
barred by the court from ever even touching a computer again as long
as they live," he speculated.

Lott would not say if he has contacted law enforcement authorities
directly about criminal prosecution of the website's operator or
operators, but he is taking action.

"Things are moving a little bit more slowly than I guess I'd like," he
admitted. "I'm going to talk to some lawyers, to see what other
options I have, next week."

Google apparently removed advertisement, but would not comment

Michael Mayzel, public relations representative for Google's
advertising department, said the company will not discuss specifics
regarding any advertiser's account for privacy reasons. But Google
does, he explained, have a standing policy to protect individuals,
such as Lott, whose names are being misused.

"When we receive a complaint from a trademark owner, our review is
limited to ensuring that the advertisements at issue are not using the
trademarked term as a keyword trigger," the policy states. "If they
are, we disable those keywords from the ad campaign."

Google considers an individual's unique name to be that person's
trademark in the same manner that the unique name of a business would
be considered the property of that business.

Mayzel would neither confirm nor deny that Google had taken any action
regarding the advertisement, but more than a dozen searches conducted
Friday afternoon for variations of "John Lott" and "Ask John Lott" did
not result in the ad being displayed.
  #2   Report Post  
wws
 
Posts: n/a
Default OT-for those whom bashed John Lott


"Gunner" wrote in message
...
Gun Statistics Expert John Lott Victim of Identity Theft
By Jeff Johnson

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.as...\200308\NAT200
30804c.html
CNSNews.com Congressional Bureau Chief
August 04, 2003

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Dr. John Lott, resident scholar at the
American Enterprise Institute and author of the most widely cited
research on civilian use of firearms against criminals, has been
targeted by an online identity theft scheme, he disclosed Friday.

snip
Looks expensive.
Notice:
"Things are moving a little bit more slowly than I guess I'd like," he
admitted. "I'm going to talk to some lawyers, to see what other
options I have, next week."
In other words the law won't investigate.
Who do you know that has an agenda and can print money at will?
--
wws
haunting the nightshift


  #3   Report Post  
jim rozen
 
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Default OT-for those whom bashed John Lott

In article , "Ed says...

HAHAHA! Oh, my God. 'Talk about getting your just desserts. g


I think probably that lady is doing it. Again....

The question arises, is he (lott) merely smacking himself
on the foot with a hammer, so he can say 'ouch.'

Jim

==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
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  #4   Report Post  
Dan Caster
 
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Default OT-for those whom bashed John Lott

I think everyone ought to ask a question that is unlikely to be able
to be answered by selecting a answer already written.

Although that may not get anything other than a preprogramed answer.
I wrote Senator Patty Murray saying that since there has been no one
drafted for something like thirty years that the requirement to
register should be eliminated. I got back a vague answer saying she
was glad to get my opinion and that she would be paying close
attention to the bill on reinstating the draft.

Dan
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