The Net is buckling under the weight of billions of unsolicited bulk e-mail ads. Current weapons aren't working--but there's hope. A report from the front lines. Scott Richter doesn't mind telling you how successful he is. His 28-employee company, OptIn-RealBig, clears 2 million dollar in sales each month. He drives a Lexus convertible and a Lexus SUV, owns a half-million-dollar home outside Denver, Colorado, and just returned from vacation on the Caribbean island of Anguilla. But the 32-year-old former restaurateur has made his small fortune in an unpopular way: sending out 80 million e-mail advertisements a day. He hawks diet pills, porn sites, sexual aids and miracle products. He's also impulsive and resourceful. During the Iraq war he churned out ads for copies of the Pentagon's Most Wanted playing cards.
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