Security news21 December 2004
Suspect in AOL spam case expected to make plea bargain, Sophos reports
 |
| 92 million AOL email addresses are said to be in the hands of spammers. |
A 24-year-old former AOL employee, who is suspected of stealing a list of 92 million email addresses of the ISP's customers and selling it to spammers for more than $100,000, is reported to have agreed a plea bargain with prosecutors.
Under the terms of the deal, prosecutors would recommend a fine and up to two years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea by Jason Smathers of Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. However, the deal depends on agreement from a US District Court judge.
The list of email addresses said to have been sold by Smathers, was said to have been used by another alleged spammer, 21-year-old Sean Dunaway, to promote an internet gambling website before being sold on to others. One of the other spammers reported the theft to the authorities following his own prosecution, according to court papers.
When Smathers was originally arrested in June it was claimed that he and Dunaway faced up to five years in prison and fines of $250,000.
"The valuable list of AOL subscribers is still believed to be circulating amongst the spammer community - although the ISP is working hard to defend its users from junk email," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "No-one should belittle the nuisance and harm that can be generated by spam email bombarding users' inboxes."
Smathers is expected to appear again in court today.
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can defend businesses from the threats of both spam and viruses.
