California has stepped up to the plate, making phishing an actual and particular crime, allowing victims of phishing scams seek damages from those who may have scammed them or taken their personal information. The Anti-Phishing Act of 2005 garnered wide support from IT industry groups as well as consumer advocates, and was signed into law last Friday. While the law, like most of its type, will probably do very little to actually fight phishing and reduce the number of phishing attempts, it very well may serve its purpose if its held up in court and a victim is allowed to collect from the scammer that managed to collect their personal information. Read more about it at PC World:
[ http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,122818,tk,dn100405X,00.asp ]