A 27-year-old man described as one of the world's most prolific spammers was arrested Wednesday, and federal authorities said computer users across the Web could notice a decrease in the amount of junk e-mail.
Robert Alan Soloway is accused of using networks of compromised "zombie" computers to send out millions upon millions of spam e-mails.
"He's one of the top 10 spammers in the world," said Tim Cranton, a Microsoft Corp. lawyer who is senior director of the company's Worldwide Internet Safety Programs. "He's a huge problem for our customers. This is a very good day."
A federal grand jury last week returned a 35-count indictment against Soloway charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
View: Business Week
Robert Alan Soloway is accused of using networks of compromised "zombie" computers to send out millions upon millions of spam e-mails.
"He's one of the top 10 spammers in the world," said Tim Cranton, a Microsoft Corp. lawyer who is senior director of the company's Worldwide Internet Safety Programs. "He's a huge problem for our customers. This is a very good day."
A federal grand jury last week returned a 35-count indictment against Soloway charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
View: Business Week
Gas chamber for spamming?? You're an idiot.
Gas chamber for spamming?? You're an idiot.
Your an idiot.
This guy deserves more than gas chamber, maybe a trip to Gitmo for a while.
Is it just me, or does that sound like complete bull****? Not that I wouldn't expect it from the 'federal authorities' but
seems to directly contradict them. I highly doubt he was sitting there manually sending tens of millions of emails. His actions are likely to leave a residual effect on the internet for years, and while I agree that this is a step in the right direction, we really need to be doing more. I'm sure web (infinity sign goes here) will fix it!
Way to go, Tom!
IMO, too high (although still justifiable) a jail term and waaaaaaay too low a fine - I think the fine should be in the tens of millions.
IMO, too high (although still justifiable) a jail term and waaaaaaay too low a fine - I think the fine should be in the tens of millions.
even if he is used as a 'sacrificial lamb' and given both punishments, i can't really see this changing anything - people doing this will just move to countries which either don't have the legislation or means to punish this new type of crime.
unless you get can get an international agreement on spam legislation a few high profile arrests won't make any difference, sadly.
This is going to be a long trial if they hold on all accounts.
I read the entire thing, and it looks like he is in for a long haul if found guilty.
Quite possibly the most ignorant and/or uninformed post I have seen here. Ever. And that covers a LOT of ground.
i hope they make em pay for this crap.... cause these f***ers are getting rich for doing nothing basically but pi**ing people off.
In an average week I normally get about 1500 spam emails sent to my domain, but they stopped on Tuesday evening, then I didn't receive a single one on Wednesday, and I've only had two today!
I think they found the one who was spamming me!!
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