Spammer Arrested

connorkimbro · December 13, 2003, 04:11

Quote:

The Commonwealth of Virginia has announced the nation's first felony charges and arrest for sending spam. Using Virginia's new Anti-Spam law, a grand jury indicted Jeremy Jaynes (a.k.a., "Jeremy James" and "Gaven Stubberfield"), regarded by the anti-spam organization Spamhaus as the eighth-worst spam distributor in the world.

Using the "Report Spam" button on the mailbox, AOL members provided thousands of complaints that were used by the Commonwealth of Virginia to help investigate and indict the defendant, according to Attorney General Jerry Kilgore.

The new law is considered the toughest in the nation and was used as the model for the criminal portion of the federal legislation that was recently passed by Congress.

Law enforcement authorities arrested Jaynes in Raleigh, North Carolina, and charged him with four felony counts of using fraudulent means to transmit unsolicited bulk e-mail, which may be prosecuted in Virginia if any part of the illegal transactions take place in any locality in the Commonwealth. (AOL's offices are located in Dulles, Virginia.)

"Gaven Stubberfield" is listed as the eighth-most prolific spammer by Spamhaus' Register of Known Spam Operations. If convicted, Jaynes could face up to 20 years in prison and $10,000 in fines -- the four felony charges each carry punishment of one to five years in prison, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.

In 2002 and early 2003, AOL worked with industry leaders, state lawmakers, and Attorney General Kilgore's office to craft a new anti-spam state law that would levy strong criminal penalties on large-scale spammers who used tactics of fraud, falsification and deceit to send the most egregious and offensive junk e-mails to AOL members. After adoption of the law by the Virginia General Assembly, AOL hosted a ceremony at its corporate headquarters on April 29, where Governor Mark Warner signed the bill.

The criminal indictment comes as AOL continues to vigorously pursue civil litigation filed earlier this year against over a dozen individuals alleged to have spammed AOL members with almost one billion junk e-mails.

I copied this from an AOL article, it's probably out there on the web somewhere, too, but i didn't find it to link to it.

I think it's interesting, if a bit odd. I think a jail sentance is a bit harsh, i could definately agree with heavy fines though.

Urban Ranger · December 13, 2003, 04:15

Only $10,000 in fines? That's peanuts compared to what these spammers make.

I say, feather and tar them, then quarter the bastards.

Shi Huangdi · December 13, 2003, 04:15

I say we set an example of him: 20 years in prison. Let spammer know there is a price to pay if they continue their illegal activity.

notyoueither · December 13, 2003, 04:21

Wow. 20 years. That's harsh.

However, what is going to stop the torrent? I have a publically known email address for work. Have had it for 7 or 8 years. It is almost unusable now, due to spam. Except, I have to use it. People know that addy from way back and all over. I can't just ignore it. So, a significant amount of time is spent each day sorting through the crap to get the real email.

I agree that jail time is harsh, but I want those hours back, damnit!

Asmodean · December 13, 2003, 05:00

I have ~~downloaded~~ bought a spam filter for my e-mail. It works like a charm, and it even lets me report spam to SpamCop. Great program.

Edit: I think 20 years is appropriate. Examples have to be set.

Asmodean

DRoseDARs · December 13, 2003, 05:43

While I'm happy they're doing something about this problem, one concern I have is how they're tracking the spammers down. I use DRoseDARs as part of several different email addys and I've seen it as part of the "originating" email adress of some of the spam I get. There are people, I worry, that now think "SPAM" when they see DRoseDARs in the email address.

What about that tactic? Does that factor into future legal cases? Defamation of charactor? Misrepresentation? DRoseDARs was uniquely formed for me when I first started with email. I've never run into the problem of that name already being in use, hence my belief/impression that it remains unique.

EDIT: There, their, and they're... *sigh*
EDIT2: doning?
EDIT3: severl?! I'm not drunk...honest!

alva · December 13, 2003, 06:08

Just let him copy every mail he ever sent by hand, once he's finished, he can go free.

Wraith · December 13, 2003, 11:48

--"I think a jail sentance is a bit harsh,"

You should read some of the details about how these guys send their spam. And check out his Spamhous entry. Some of things he's done include stock pump-and-dump spam scams.

These guys are collaborating with virus writers these days. Some of the recent ones (see Mimail.h, for instance) do things like install open relay e-mail servers or attack anti-spam groups.
They've also moved to the level where they actually hack into servers in order to do pretty much the same thing. This kind of activity is a crime anyway, in addition to the spamming. The jail time is appropriate, although the fines should be higher.

--"However, what is going to stop the torrent?"

Get the major ones shut down, and it'll do a huge amount to help. There's not really that many who make serious money from this, and they're the ones who do the majority of the spamming. This is a step in the right direction.

--"one concern I have is how they're tracking the spammers down."

Places like Spamhaus (ie. the ones who know what they're doing) don't pay attention to the "from" address in the spam. There's better ways to track them down.

--"Just let him copy every mail he ever sent by hand, once he's finished, he can go free."

Sounds good to me, but just think of how many trees would get used up in the process.

Wraith
The vastness of space and time and I end up here?

Drogue · December 13, 2003, 11:52

Quote:

Originally posted by Asmodean
I have ~~downloaded~~ bought a spam filter for my e-mail. It works like a charm, and it even lets me report spam to SpamCop. Great program.

What program? I've been looking for a decent filter, 'cause I'm getting over 200 spam a day, and it's starting to take some time deleting them all, but checking I delete nothing important.

Kuciwalker · December 13, 2003, 11:59

Quote:

Originally posted by alva
Just let him copy every mail he ever sent by hand, once he's finished, he can go free.

Verto · December 13, 2003, 12:11

Quote:

Originally posted by alva
Just let him copy every mail he ever sent by hand, once he's finished, he can go free.

Make him use his feet.

Kuciwalker · December 13, 2003, 12:12

I change my mind. I like Verto's solution better.

Peter Triggs · December 13, 2003, 12:26

Quote:

What program? I've been looking for a decent filter, 'cause I'm getting over 200 spam a day, and it's starting to take some time deleting them all, but checking I delete nothing important.

I use MailWasher:

http://www.mailwasher.net/

The free version is limited to one e-mail account but that's fine for me because there's only one account I have that attracks spam. The 'bounce' feature doesn't seem to work as well as it used to, but it's still a huge improvement over having to sort them out individually.

MrFun · December 13, 2003, 13:20

Quote:

Originally posted by alva
Just let him copy every mail he ever sent by hand, once he's finished, he can go free.

Most excellent punishment, I say.

Asmodean · December 13, 2003, 15:04

Quote:

Originally posted by Drogue

What program? I've been looking for a decent filter, 'cause I'm getting over 200 spam a day, and it's starting to take some time deleting them all, but checking I delete nothing important.

Yup...MailWasher it is. Soecifically MailWasher Pro 3.3, which lets you filter spam from multiple e-mail accounts.

Asmodean

Gangerolf · December 13, 2003, 16:25

Quote:

Originally posted by MrFun

Most excellent punishment, I say.

indeed. hopefully followed by something like this

Kuciwalker · December 13, 2003, 16:31

off with their heads!

MrBaggins · December 13, 2003, 16:34

Ahh.. you're torture lightweights.... beheading is far too kind and painless.

I was thinking he should have a hole drilled through his belly, and a chain with a crossbar at the end (so it doesn't slip through,) threaded through the hole. Then he could be hung from a gibbet, by this chain (hands tied behind his back,) and slowly lowered into a bath of strong acid.

Jaguar · December 13, 2003, 16:49

Quote:

Originally posted by alva
Just let him copy every mail he ever sent by hand, once he's finished, he can go free.

Shogun Gunner · December 13, 2003, 16:52

Quote:

Originally posted by alva
Just let him copy every mail he ever sent by hand, once he's finished, he can go free.

Good idea!

Or perhaps, the spammer can visit each person that received his spam and provide one hour of free computer support.

I'm all for this. Those spammers know the risks and it's not like they couldn't go get a legitimate job -- they are very intelligent/skilled individuals.

Sprayber · December 13, 2003, 16:54

Nothing like spammers to bring all of poly together in common disgust.

MrFun · December 13, 2003, 17:06

GASP

Sprayber, maybe we found the ONE thing that all Apolytoners can agree on!!

Az · December 13, 2003, 18:21

well, faded glory wouldn't have agreed.