Spammer reformed?

Scott Richter, aka the 'Spam King', is no longer classed as a spammer according to Spamhaus's authoritative Register of Known Spam Operations (ROKSO)

Scott Richter, aka the 'Spam King', is no longer classed as a spammer according to Spamhaus's authoritative Register of Known Spam Operations (ROKSO). The man who brought to our inboxes such 'unbeatable' offers as the set of Iraq's Most Wanted playing cards for only $5.99 has apparently decided to go straight, ditching the spam in favour of legitimate opt-in bulk mailing.

Richter gained notoriety as a spammer thanks to a catalogue of high-profile campaigns and legal cases. In May 2004 Richter was granted a restraining order against spam-reporting outfit SpamCop. The following month, shortly after he began to market a range of clothing under the 'Spam King' label, Richter received a cease-and-desist communication from Hormel Foods, warning him against using the Spam marque. July 2004 saw Richter agree to pay $40,000 in settlement of a lawsuit brought against him by the State of New York, and in March this year his email marketing company OptInRealBig.com was brought to the brink of bankruptcy by a Microsoft lawsuit. On filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Richter claimed company assets of less than $10 million and debts of more than $50 million.

Spamhaus director Steve Linford reported that a significant drop in overall spam levels has been noted over the six months since Richter gave up spamming.

30 July 2005

Tags: spam del.icio.us digg this