Last January the US anti-spam law came into effect and one of the first prosecution cases is underway in the District Court for the Southern District of New York. The 24-year old from West Virginia in the dock is an ex-employee of America Online (AOL) and he is accused of stealing a valuable list of AOL customers in 2003.

The number of e-mail addresses stolen from AOL headquarters in Dulles, Virginia, is estimated to be over 92 million and they were sold to an accomplice in Las Vegas for around $100,000. Gambling advertisements were then sent to the AOL subscribers and the list sold on to other spammers. The accused accessed the e-mail lists through another AOL employee’s access code.

AOL, the world’s largest Internet provider, has an estimated 30 million subscribers but a percentage of these operate multiple e-mail accounts. Such a huge list of names is a gold mine for spammers and the AOL list is believed to be still circulating, although the company has taken positive action to prevent unwanted e-mails from reaching their customers.

Apparently spam originators frequently target AOL subscribers as they are considered to be, on the whole, inexperienced Internet users. According to Brian McWilliams, author of ‘Spam Kings’ – a book about e-mail spammers, the AOL user is like “a deer with a red ribbon in its antlers” ready to be hunted.

The theft of the list was reported by someone who had himself previously been prosecuted for spamming. A plea bargain is anticipated in the present criminal case, with the accused receiving a lighter sentence for pleading guilty.

© Copyright 2004 CasinoCompendium



>>> return to archives
>>> return to frontpage