Feds Nab Top Spammer, Predict Junk Mail Drop

One of world's "top 10" spammers jailed; used "zombie" computers to send out millions of junk emails
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted May 31, 2007 7:48 AM CDT
Feds Nab Top Spammer, Predict Junk Mail Drop
Spam.   ((c) tamakisono)

The feds arrested one of the world's worst spammers yesterday—a guy so prolific they claimed net-users worldwide would notice a drop in junkmail as a result of his detention. Robert Alan Soloway used infected "zombie" computers to send out millions of messages, and continued to do so even after Microsoft won a $7 million judgment against him in 2005, the AP reports.

A federal grand jury has charged the 27-year-old Seattlite with mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering; the case is the first time identity theft statutes have been used to prosecute a spammer for taking over someone else's Internet domain name. Soloway pleaded not guilty on all charges. (More Robert Alan Soloway stories.)

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