2009-05-01
Abstract
Spammers whose campaign targeted over 2,000 educational institutions face up to ten years imprisonment.
Copyright © 2009 Virus Bulletin
A group of four spammers were indicted by a federal grand jury in Missouri last month after they masterminded an extensive spamming campaign targeting more than 2,000 colleges and universities across the US.
It is believed that the group developed email-harvesting programs that were used to obtain more than eight million student email addresses. The campaign began at the University of Missouri, where one of the four was studying at the time, then spread, eventually targeting almost every college and university in the country.
In total, the four face more than 50 charges including fraud in connection with computers, fraud in connection with email, conspiracy, and violations of the CAN-SPAM Act. The defendants face up to ten years imprisonment and the indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation which, upon conviction, would require them to give up their $4.1 million in proceeds.
