Social-networking behemoth claims it?s the victim of a phishing scam.
MySpace.com, News Corp.'s social-networking web site, sued Sanford Wallace, who became known as the King of Spam in the 1990s, for setting up dummy profiles to direct MySpace users to web sites such Real-vegas-sins.com.
Wallace created 11,000 fake profiles using automated software programs in violation of MySpace's terms of use agreement, the company said in a complaint filed March 23 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. MySpace's complaint, which seeks unspecified damages, accuses Wallace of violating the 2003 U.S. Can-Spam Act that regulates the use of unsolicited e-mail.
Wallace was one of the largest senders of unwanted e-mail solicitations known as ?spam? in the 1990s. He headed Cyber Promotions, which sent millions of junk e-mails daily to consumers, earning Wallace the nicknames ?Spam King? and ?Spamford.? The Federal Trade Commission sued him in 2004 for infecting personal computers with spyware that flooded users with unwanted advertisements.
This case represents the third generation of spamming for Wallace, and includes claims for pernicious spoofing and spamming, phishing and identity theft,? MySpace said in the complaint.
A telephone listing for Wallace in Las Vegas, his residence according to filings in the FTC lawsuit, wasn't available. Wallace does business under the names of Real-vegas-sins.com, Freevegasclubs.com and Feeble Minded Productions, according to the complaint.
Class A shares of New York-based News Corp. fell 17 cents to $22.96 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have gained 6.9 percent this year. The case is MySpace Inc. v. Sanford Wallace et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California in Los Angeles, 07-1929.
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