Daniel Lin is due to be sentenced in May.
Daniel Lin of West Broomfield, Detroit, has pleaded guilty to
sending millions of spam emails in April 2005 from hacked computers
belonging to the Ford Motor Company, Amoco, Unisys, the US Army
Information Centre, and the Administrative Office of US Courts.
Lin is scheduled to receive his sentence on 16 May, and likely
to face a jail term of at least two years. He could also face a
fine of up to $250,000.
According to the authorities, Lin sent spam emails selling bogus
diet aids, herbal remedies and illegally imported erectile
dysfunction drugs from India, and generated more than $100,000. The
US Attorney's Office said that the drugs were sold without
prescriptions, in breach of Food and Drug Administration
regulations.
"People who buy medicines marketed via spam messages are not
only encouraging the spammers to send more of their nuisance
emails, but are also potentially putting their lives at risk," said
Graham Cluley,
senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Daniel Lin is unlikely to
be sending any more spam, but there are plenty of other spammers
out there prepared to make a quick buck with their unwanted
marketing messages. All computer users should defend their email
addresses with up-to-date anti-spam software, and remember to never
buy goods marketed via spam."
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can defend against the
threats of both spam and viruses.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.