Now if we can get this sort of power on a worldwide level against those who use spyware! The US Senate is done playing around as they introduce the Anti-Phishing Act of 2005. Unlike most bills be presented, this one really has a sting since violators would be facing up to 5 years and $250,000 fine.

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate this week would allow prison time of up to five years and fines of up to US$250,000 for people who design fake Web sites for the purposes of stealing money or credit card numbers.

The Anti-Phishing Act of 2005, introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy, would outlaw “phishing,” in which scam artists design Web sites to look like real banking or e-commerce sites, then e-mail spam to people saying they need to re-enter their account or credit card numbers at the bogus site.

The Vermont Democrat’s bill, similar to one that failed to pass in 2004, would allow law enforcement officials another tool to fight phishing scams, by creating an opportunity to prosecute before the actual fraud takes place, said Julie Katzman, a legal advisor to Leahy on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill is intended to deter phishing scammers, she added.

“It helps to have a crime that defines the conduct,” Katzman said. “It does send (scammers) a signal.”

Leahy’s bill would also extend the same penalties to so-called “pharming,” in which scammers redirect computer users’ browsers and direct them to spoofed banking or e-commerce sites.