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SCI/TECH: Judge Sentences Spammer to Nine Years

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posted on Apr, 8 2005 @ 06:26 PM
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Originally posted by Djarums
You're all way off here mainly due to you only having a "consumer" mind.

It's the same thing. Corporations spend millions on computers and lowlifes like this guy make THREE QUARTERS OF A MILLION DOLLARS A MONTH to break them.

It is very very sad that some of you think vandalism is justified since it doesn't bother you in particular. Try viewing it from the perspectives of others for a minute. It's not just your hotmail account we're talking about.


I think you need to take a deep breath there Djarums, and maybe re-read the thread. Nobody said that the spamming is "justified", nor that it doesn't cause inconvenience or monetary loss, nor that spammers should not be punished. The issue is the severity of the sentence in contrast with other crimes.

Yeah, a certain Ami Fisher here in Long Island got 5 years for having shot a woman, in cold blood, which left the victom partially paralyzed.
Members are discussing alternative punishments that would not only be more fitting for the crime, but would also work to ensure that this kind of crime is hindered in the future.


[edit on 2005/4/8 by wecomeinpeace]



posted on Apr, 8 2005 @ 06:33 PM
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my technique is I have a junk e-mail address I use on all internet activity, accounts, purchases, etc, and I never give out the my real address except to friends and family. about once a month, I clean it out. no biggie



posted on Apr, 8 2005 @ 08:15 PM
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what law did he break exactly?



posted on Apr, 8 2005 @ 10:25 PM
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I have to agree with Grady and Djarums on this one. Personally, I don’t care if the jerk never sees the light of day again. I’d rather save my sympathy for those who deserve it. Like Grady said, the guy will do a few years. Then he’ll get out a millionaire and will probably come up with some other scam to separate the gullible from their money. It takes a certain mentality, and lack of ethics, to do this sort of thing; something akin to being a con artist or scammer.

Having said that, though, I think spamming is far less hideous than some of the other activities taking place on the Internet today. I wish there was more focus placed on prosecuting those who bombard the Internet user with malware, spyware, Trojans, worms, viruses, etc., etc., etc. As far as I’m concerned, these folks are the real criminals. Their antics are invasive, intrusive and harmful. They are literally coming into your home by installing their trash on your machine. It is done without permission and many times results in the user losing valuable data, and having to reformat their disk to start over. For these criminals, 9 years isn’t enough. I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep if they were locked up and the key thrown away.

By the way, I make a living as a software developer and system analyst and have spent countless hours ridding client machines of this garbage before getting to the job I was hired to do in the first place. And believe me, they end up paying for it.

The way I see it, these people are nothing but computer savvy, modern day thugs. They’re of the same cut as those who use telemarketing to relieve the elderly of their Social Security checks.



posted on Apr, 8 2005 @ 10:29 PM
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Today is a happy day for Cyberdude78
. Yes for once the justice system is actually benefitting mankind
. This is so emotional, I must say, things are looking up. Finally spammers are getting what they deserve, especially after they tried suing somebody who reported a spammer.

Maybe now they'll be a bit more reluctant to infrig on my right to sanity (ok maybe not a right, but I still deserve it)
. Personally I don't see any constitutional problems seing as I'm pretty sure the exception to the freedom of speech is when it's used for malicious purposes. Now all we need to do is make sure that lawyers can't convince the judical system that it's not malicious. Because it is, it serves no purpose other than to take up server space and drive people insane
.

Either way, I'm so happy
. Wow, I don't think I've been this happy since before middle school.



posted on Apr, 8 2005 @ 10:35 PM
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Originally posted by bookie
what law did he break exactly?


I think this sums up the current situation pretty well. Obviously, the case will be used to test the law and many feel that it will not stand up in appeal.




The law targets only the most egregious offenders and can't be applied to an innocent party who happens to send out a large mailing, according to Warner.

Under the law, senders can be prosecuted if they consciously alter an e-mail header or other routing information and attempt to send either 10,000 messages within a 24-hour period or 100,000 in a 30-day period. The sender can also be prosecuted if a specific transmission generates more than $1000 in revenue, or if total transmissions generate $50,000.

The underlying Virginia statute in which the new felony penalties appear has survived previous constitutional challenges in cases brought by both Dulles, Virginia-based America Online and New York-based Verizon Communications, according to the governor's office. Because it focuses on e-mail that passes through Virginia-based Internet service providers, the statue gives state prosecutors and the Virginia attorney general legal jurisdiction over spammers outside the state, said the governor's office.

Marvin Benn, an intellectual property attorney at Much Shelist Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein P.C. in Chicago, said the new Virginia bill strengthens the state's existing antispam provisions; but in doing so, it may have attempted to do too much. Making high-volume spamming a criminal act "presents some real constitutional issues," Benn said.

"I don't really think they can do it," he said of the felony provisions. "It seems to be a violation of the First Amendment."


www.pcworld.com...



posted on Apr, 8 2005 @ 11:29 PM
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I say we give him the chair!






Gives him the chair-->







posted on Apr, 8 2005 @ 11:45 PM
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Originally posted by GradyPhilpott



.. The sender can also be prosecuted if a specific transmission generates more than $1000 in revenue, or if total transmissions generate $50,000.

www.pcworld.com...


I must have missed something here. This line seems to state that anyone who makes too much money using email is automatically guilty of a crime. If that is a new law, I disagree with it. Successfully selling a product shouldn't be illegal.

I'm all for going after spammers though. I get upset that thousands of people respond to the spam mail though (from source of first post). This response keeps all the spam mail going and going and going. It's these people who respond to spam mail and buy these products who are the source of all the $750,000 per month that this spammer made money from. I don't know but if I read I could make that much money, it is no wonder there is so much spam. We can all thank the thousands of people who buy from this spam. I believe they are really much lower than the spammers. Of course they probably don't worry about spam if they are buying from it.

I got all my spam eliminated over a year ago when I switched isp's and changed my email address.



posted on Apr, 9 2005 @ 01:13 AM
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This has nothing to do with free speech. No one is stopping him from talking. What is being stopped is this a** from trying to FORCE us to listen to HIM at OUR expense. That isn't freedom of speech. I'd have a large electromagnet implanted in his body so if this pond scum gets anywhere near a computer the thing will shut down.



posted on Apr, 9 2005 @ 03:30 AM
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Originally posted by Djarums
You're all way off here mainly due to you only having a "consumer" mind.

It is very very sad that some of you think vandalism is justified since it doesn't bother you in particular. Try viewing it from the perspectives of others for a minute. It's not just your hotmail account we're talking about.

[edit on 4-8-2005 by Djarums]


No, as a matter of fact I can view the situation from the perspective of a IT Admin. who has dealt with this problem time and time again. Not just finding ways to simply block spam but also protecting the company servers from becoming a compromised "re-mailer". It's the insecure company servers which are the ones that are being used to spread most of the spam that goes around, just like your were saying. However, it's not difficult to stop that from happening as long as you hire qualified people to support your network.

Let's make it clear right now that I DO NOT support the actions of Spammers and Malicious Hackers and Troublesome ScriptKiddies and all the others like em. However, I also do not shed one single tear for the poor businesses out there who constantly fall victim to the same easily avoidable pitfalls they've been warned about. Most of them are either incompetent or just plain stupid and think only about getting on the web to make a bigger profit faster. Not that there is anything wrong with that per se, just as long as you do it correctly and intelligently.

Now aside from all that though, like I posted before, it is still not Illegal to mass email the crap out of the world just as long as it's not done without providing a valid source address and usually an opt-out option along with it. So before you start bringing up all the vandalism which someone is liable for you need to realize that these laws, at least so far, don't stop the spam from circulating. They simply require that the sender include a source and a way for people to opt out of their mailing list.

IMO, it makes me sick how Commercial and "Sold Out" the internet has become anyway. I mean for the love of god, why is it that no matter what it is, the human race seems determined to Cheapen everything. Some news for all you people out there, "Nothing about the Web is in anyway your PRIVATE PLACE, so stop assuming that it is. If you want to be alone and safe then unplug and quit broadcasting your info across the planet at the speed of light. Sooner or later the compromise of Liberty for Security will happen on the web just like you want and it will make the web just as boring and restricted as everything else. Although you will of course be able to "Buy All the Consumer Goods" you could ever want without risking anything, even leaving your house."







 
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