Fighting malware and spam

Spammers sentenced

Sentences for first US spammer to be convicted under CAN-SPAM and Australian mobile phone marketers.

The first US spammer to be convicted under the 2003 CAN-SPAM Act was sentenced last month, nearly three years after agreeing a plea deal with federal prosecutors. In September 2004, 40-year-old Californian Nicholas Tombros became the first person to be convicted under the CAN-SPAM Act when he pleaded guilty to sending spam messages advertising pornographic websites. He admitted to having driven around the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Venice searching for unsecured wireless networks which he then used to send the spam messages - having obtained the email addresses from a credit card aggregation company of which he was a former employee.

Tombros was sentenced last month to three years' probation, and six months' home detention, as well as ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. The reason for the long delay in sentencing was not disclosed.

Meanwhile, Australian mobile phone marketing company DC Marketing Europe has been fined almost AU$150,000 by the Australian Communications and Media Authority for breaching the country's Spam Act in July and August 2006. The company - notorious for its 'missed call' marketing schemes - was charged with sending unsolicited messages that failed to identify the sender and did not allow the recipient to unsubscribe.

01 August 2007

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