Notorious Seattle e-mail spammer arrested

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/05/31/spam.arrest.ap/index.html

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."
Well they caught this guy, but so far they haven't caught the penis enlargement guy :serpico:
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
Nice! And he's from my area, no less. What is to be gained by being a spammer anyway, aside from jail/prison time when they catch you? :schierke:
 

CnC

Ad Oculos
hopefully this is the guy who kept offering stock tips.

Actually I noticed I'm not getting much spam recently (there was a bit there where I was getting some stock tips every couple of hours).

Please pretty please...
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Rhombaad said:
Nice! And he's from my area, no less. What is to be gained by being a spammer anyway, aside from jail/prison time when they catch you? :schierke:

Money, unfortunately.

even with four bank accounts seized by the government -- he was sufficiently well off to pay for his own lawyer. He has been living in a ritzy apartment and drives an expensive Mercedes convertible
He continued his activities even after Microsoft won a $7 million civil judgment against him in 2005 and the operator of a small Internet service provider in Oklahoma won a $10 million judgment, prosecutors said.

It's great news they caught one of these guys. I think the day they catch the viagra/penis enlargement guy there's going to be a mass movement and he'll be torn to pieces by a mob.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
TheBeast43105 said:
Really? Pardon me for sounding ignorant, but how does that work out? I've always wondered how spamming could benefit someone.
It clearly benefited him, read the article dude. He used the ads to promote his internet ad/marketing company, which charged clients a $495 fee to mass e-mail spam their ads across billions of addresses. As much of an asshole tactic as it is, apparently many people paid that fee.

The general theory for how spammers benefit is that for every 1,000,000 people who don't click the ad, or buy into the propaganda, there will be a handful who are stupid enough, or absent minded enough, to buy into it, earning between cents and dollars for each hit depending on the product.

Hell I guarantee you thousands of people have actually sent money towards one of those penis enlargement ads.
 
I love hearing about these guys getting caught, they're disgusting.

Big spammers to me are worse than drug dealers, at least then the people actually want the product they are buying and no one else has to hear about it. It's a shame to think he'll only do a few months, or even get off completely.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Sparnage said:
I love hearing about these guys getting caught, they're disgusting.

Big spammers to me are worse than drug dealers, at least then the people actually want the product they are buying and no one else has to hear about it. It's a shame to think he'll only do a few months, or even get off completely.
I really think that's a pretty ridiculous statement. Spammers cause major inconvienances worldwide, given. But drug dealers can ruin lives and KILL PEOPLE.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, as much as I despise spam, I still wouldn't put it in the same bag as crack cocaine...
 
S

smoke

Guest
Aaz, were you setting up for a crack-coated Spam luncheon meat joke of some sort?

Because the punchline won't be found here.
 
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