• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

MySpace Files Spamming Suit

Posted on: Monday, 22 January 2007, 18:00 CST

The social portal MySpace.com filed suit in federal court in Los Angeles, claiming a man violated state and federal anti-spamming laws, the company said Monday.

In its suit, MySpace alleged that between July and December 2006, Scott Richter and his associates phished then spammed MySpace users' accounts, the company said in a news release. The spam campaigns offered products and services such as shirts and ringtones.

MySpace seeks a permanent injunction barring Richter and his companies from the MySpace Web site and unspecified monetary damages. The suit was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

We're committed to protecting our community from phishing and spam, said Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace chief Security officer. If it takes filing a federal suit to stop someone who violates the law and damages our members' experience, then that's what we'll do.

Richter has been sued by Microsoft and then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. In the Microsoft case, Richter agreed in a post-judgment settlement to pay $7 million and to make fundamental changes in his e-mail practices. According to Spitzer's office, Richter settled for monetary damages and specific changes in his e-mail campaigns.

Phishing involves trying to get confidential information; spamming, unsolicited ads or information.

Source: United Press International

More News in this Category