| Jon Clark - BANNED FOR LIFE |
06-08-2006 10:55 PM |
CHICAGO (AFP) - A college student who led a massive spam e-mail operation has been fined more than 10 million dollars, the Texas attorney general said.
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"Spam e-mail is not only pervasive in our society but is one of the most aggravating problems computer users face," Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a statement Wednesday.
"Today's crackdown effectively shuts down one of the worst spam operators and sends a warning to others who would engage in spam e-mailing for profit."
The former student, Ryan Pitylak, 24, and partners Mark Trotter, Gary Trappler and Alan Refaeli bombarded consumers with millions of e-mails under at least 250 assumed names, the attorney general said.
The e-mails tricked consumers into revealing personal information that was later sold to other companies despite assurances of privacy.
Pityalak was once listed as the fourth-worst spammer in the world.
The judgment was hailed by cyberspace experts who said it shows that the 2004 federal Can-Spam Act, which outlaws certain types of e-mail solicitation, is working.
"From the reports I've seen, I'd say 10 million dollars is an appropriate number, given all the misery he caused," John Levine, author of "Fighting Spam for Dummies" told the San Antonio Express.
Levine said Pitylak's abuses "were really egregious. He's sent out enormous amounts of spam and was fairly simple-minded about it. It was fairly easy to track him."
Pitylak -- who recently sold a BMW and house for 430,000 dollars -- sounded somewhat repentant in an interview with the San Antonio Express.
"This has been a real good learning experience for me," Pitylak said. "It's OK that I no longer have this stuff. It's just stuff. I feel good that I was able to cooperate. The settlement has been a bit harsh. I'm happy to move on with my life."
He said he had started an Internet security company to help protect against spam and was reluctant to describe his life in the spam industry, saying he didn't "want to give others in the spam industry information about how to do it."
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