Fergie's Tech Blog

Spamford Wallace's MySpace Riches Come Under Attack

Dan Goodin writes on The Register:

Anybody who says crime doesn't pay obviously hasn't talked to Sanford Wallace. In just six months' time, the prolific purveyor of spam and spyware engineered a scam on MySpace that netted at least $555,850, according to court documents filed this week.

The brazen scheme used a combination of malware and social engineering to push MySpace users onto porn- and gambling-related websites under Wallace's control. It began in late 2006, just months after Wallace and business associate Walter Rines settled charges related to spyware by agreeing to pay the Federal Trade Commission just $50,000 combined.

Now the FTC is trying to grow a pair. In a motion underscoring the difficulty of stopping spyware purveyors like Wallace, attorneys from the agency asked the federal judge overseeing the settlement to find the men in contempt for violating the terms of the settlement agreement. The commission seeks an order requiring the men to surrender their profits in the MySpace scheme.

posted by Fergie @ 1/25/2008 04:47:00 PM