AOL has filed five lawsuits in U.S. Federal Court against more than a dozen individuals and companies that it says are major spammers of its members, The Washington Post reported today. AOL says that its 27 million members have received about 1 billion pieces of spam, resulting in over 8 million complaints. The company is seeking a total of US$10 million in damages. “The barrage of lawsuits reflects a heightened industry, legal and legislative effort to combat spam, which has grown so rapidly that it accounts for nearly 40 percent of email traffic and is estimated to cost U.S. businesses $8 billion to $10 billion a year,” notes the story.