Fergie's Tech Blog

California Man Convicted Under Antispam Law

A Bloomberg News article, via The New York Times, reports that:

A California man who defrauded users of AOL by sending e-mail messages requesting credit data became the first defendant found guilty by a jury under a 2003 federal law barring Internet ”spam.”

The defendant, Jeffrey B. Goodin, 45, of Azusa, Calif., was convicted under the 2003 Can-Spam Act, the United States attorney’s office said yesterday in a statement. The statute prohibits sending unsolicited e-mail messages with falsified header, or return address, information.

Prosecutors said that Mr. Goodin operated a so-called phishing scheme that duped AOL subscribers into providing personal and credit information in the belief they were dealing with the company’s billing department. He used the credit card information to make unauthorized purchases.

Mr. Goodin is to be sentenced June 11 in Los Angeles.

posted by Fergie @ 1/17/2007 09:55:00 AM