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Vonage pioneers VoIP spam
In an effort to push its forthcoming IPO, Vonage has pioneered the field of VoIP spam.
The company has delivered a voice mail message (you can listen to it below) to its subscribers, soliciting to purchase stock in the upcoming Vonage IPO. These messages were delivered as an audio email attachment and even to subscribers who don't use the Vonage voice mail service. The email offered no way to opt out from receiving Vonage spam in the future.
The message was preceded by email messages with a similar message earlier this week. In a move that reminds of the hyped IPOs of the internet boom days, the company has set aside some of its stock for subscribers.
Security experts for some time have warned against the threat of VoIP spam, where spammers would use an internet connection to place unsolicited phone calls to internet telephony subscribers. Few would have expected however that a VoIP provider would be the first to abuse VoIP for an unsollicited sales pitch.
Vonage is preparing a $550m floatation that would value the company at about $2.5bn.
The company is leaking money all over the place, posting a net loss of $85m over the most recent quarter on revenue of $119m. Its founder furthermore is a convicted criminal who is barred from association with any securities broker or dealer. In summary: if you want to bet, try the lottery instead of buying Vonage stock.
You listen to the spam (aka: spim) here.
Tags: vonage, ipo, spam, spim, voip
May 10, 2006 at 12:01 AM | Permalink
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