World-Record Fine for Spammers
Next time you check your email and wade through the spam, pause, smile, and think of Sanford Wallace and Walter Rines, it'll gladden your heart. They have just been fined a world-record $234 million by a court in Los Angeles for sending 730,000 messages to MySpace users.
The amount of the fine was calculated at $100 for every user they targeted, then tripled for the deliberate and calculated way they executed their crime, plus a charge by MySpace for system resources they illegally used. Of course, it's unlikely any individual will see even $100 from these two operators, still less will the whole $235 million be paid, but whatever assets Wallace and Rimes have is likely to be seized. It still sends a clear message to spammers that they will be pursued and they will be prosecuted.
A huge fine, and a very small step towards defeating spam.
Perhaps an opportune moment to review your anti-spam strategy?
- Mark Griffin's blog
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