Spammers Wreak Havoc at AT&T Call Center

According to courthousenews.com,

Several of AT&T’s call centers have been receiving numerous anonymous email spam messages. These email messages were distributed via AT&T’s internal email distribution systems. These phony messages told the call-center employees to go home “in an orderly fashion.” Another message suggested that certain call center locations were going to be closed down because of low call volume and employees would be contacted regarding relocation, etc. Another message said that call center employees had to wear business casual attire to work, effective May 1, 2012. Because these messages were able to circumvent the system, AT&T was forced to reconfigure its email distribution systems, perform scans for malicious programs, and install electronic safety measures–all of these resulted in damage to AT&T’s computer systems. Moreover, AT&T’s ability to service its customers was disrupted. Its overhead and customer service costs increased.

AT&T wasn’t going to let these spammers get away so it decided to sue. AT&T seeks damages for violation of the Federal Fraud and Abuse Act.