Acting chairman Dr Bob Horton said the ACA had received reports from members of the public alleging they had received "thousands of unsolicited e-mails" from the company. Horton claimed further investigations suggested this was "only the tip of the iceberg" and that tens of millions of messages could be involved. The company could not be named for legal reasons.
The ACA said Deloitte Forensics and the Australian Government Solicitor had helped in the search. Investigators seized computer hard disks and other materials.
The regulator has issued the company and its sole director with "formal notices requiring them to produce documents and other information about their activities" to the authority within two weeks.
ACA spokesperson Paul Slocum said he was unable to comment further for legal reasons. However Slocum said that the company in question was not T3 Direct, a Perth-based e-mail marketing company which made headlines in 2002 after it sued an anti-spam advocate.
The Federal Magistrates Court issued the search warrant on the basis of a possible breach of the Spam Act 2003.
While it may not be T3, it's quite obviously Wayne Mansfield. The company has morphed into Clarity1 Pty Ltd but it's the same person and the same spamming operation. ACA also raided the Director's Dianella home.
This information is freely available in registries:
| T3 DIRECT MARKETING
| DOMAIN: http://www.t3direct.com.au
| NAME / DIRECTOR: MANSFIELD WAYNE ROBERT
| HOME ADDRESS: 153 WELLINGTON ROAD DIANELLA WA 6059