February 15, 1997, Il Gazzettino, Venezia: Informed of a Scam in the States

Informato di Una Truffa Negli States - Lettera di Clinton via Internet al mestrino Capodieci: <<Grazie>>
Informed of a Scam in the States - Clinton’s Letter via the Internet to Capodieci of Mestre: “Thanks”

By Elisio Trevisan

“Thank you … Bill” Bill who? Bill Clinton, naturally. The President of the United States of America took the trouble to send a letter to Roberto Capodieci, a twenty-two-year-old from Mestre.

But does Bill Clinton even know where Mestre is, if they haven’t told him it’s near Venice? And yet, it is true. It is all true: Bill Clinton has thanked Roberto Capodieci for having uncovered a scam on the Internet originating right in the United States.

To tell the truth, for an American it is nothing strange that his President takes the trouble even for the UTIMO (most ideal) citizen of Iowa or Tennessee. It is we Italians who are astounded, because our feelings toward the States is probably very low. It isn’t normal for us to lose ourselves in long discussions on whether the fault for this fact belongs to the citizens or to the elected officials. It is irrefutable, however, that in America democracy there is also this, a relationship with the citizen.

So, last January 29th, at his e-mail address, Roberto Capodieci, young information expert, received a message from the White House: “Well done! … Thanks for your initiative and your collaboration”, signed Bill.

A few months ago, Roberto discovered that somebody in the States was perpetrating a huge scam against Internet users: it offered a free and innocuous program to improve viewing photos and hearing sounds at its site. Without giving you a chance to know what was going on (among other things it lowered users’ modem volume down to zero) it would disconnect you from the Internet and tie you into an international toll number (remember the notorious 144?). Even if you figured this out, it was too late. And that is because when you got your telephone bill, you would be lucky if it was only about $500.

At that point the man from Mestre connected, still through the Internet, to the FBI and denounced the scam.

After some days he discovered that the FBI had already intervened. On the screen of the incriminated site appeared a little script that said: Attention, the program that you load will disconnect you from the Internet and will connect you, through a toll number, to our database.

And now Bill has thanked Roberto of Mestre.