Channel Register

MySpace wins lawsuit against Spamford Wallace

Serial nuisance fails to defend case

By John Leyden • Get more from this author

Posted in Software & Security, 29th April 2008 11:12 GMT

Free whitepaper – What Exchange can't do - and Dell can

MySpace has won a lawsuit against notorious spammer Sanford (Spamford) Wallace. The social networking website gained a default judgment against Wallace after he failed to turn over documents or appear in court, CNet reports.

Wallace was sued in March 2007 over allegations he orchestrated a phishing scam designed to harvest MySpace login credentials. He was further accused of spamming messages to MySpace users designed to tempt them into visiting porn- and gambling-related websites. The scam began in late 2006 and netted at least $555,850, according to court papers from the US District Court in the Central District of California.

In May 2006, Wallace and his firm Smartbot.net were ordered by a federal court to pay fines of $4m over a spyware-related scam prosecuted by the Federal Trade Commission. As previously reported, FTC lawyers have asked a federal judge overseeing this settlement to find Wallace and his cohorts in contempt for violating the terms of the settlement agreement. Whether the MySpace settlement will strengthen their hand remains unclear, but attempts to force spammers and black hat crackers like Wallace to turn over their ill-gotten gains are notoriously difficult. ®

Free whitepaper – What Exchange can't do - and Dell can