I, Spammer

PCOL writes "The Washington Post is reporting on testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation by Ronald Scelson, an eighth-grade dropout and self-taught computer programmer from Louisiana, who claims that he sends between 120 million and 180 million e-mails every 12 hours, that he can break sophisticated software filters 24 hours after they are deployed, and that he has no choice but to resort to forging the sender information in his bulk e-mail so he can be anonymous and maintain his connection to the Internet. He added that he obtained all his addresses legally and that AOL gladly sold him the company's entire customer directory which Ted Leonsis, vice chairman of AOL, did not deny." It's a tough life. Here's another story about the Senate committee meeting.

Comments

SPAMHAUS Record on Scelson

[tbmaddux]

... is here. He must not be doing all that well if he can't scrape together the dough to get his fat ass out of Slidell, Louisiana, a town I had the misfortune of driving through a year ago and whose only redeeming feature is the Lake Ponchartrain bridge/causeway leading out of it and to New Orleans.

HERE HE IS, the bastard

[Anonymous Coward]

He has two addresses, (assuming these are both him).
These were the only Ronald Scelson's in Louisiana and considering they are both in the same city I would say it's fairly certain.

Ronald Scelson
211 Martin Lane
Slidell, LA 70458

Ronald R Scelson
1711 W Hall Ave
Slidell, LA 70460

Would the /. community like to show this guy what we consider spam?

Re:HERE HE IS, the bastard

[wiggys]

The problem is you have to be REALLY sure this is him. What if an innocent person who shares the same name is targetted.

That's the problem with vigilanti-style justice - it requires an assumption of guilt, and the victim rarely gets an opportunity to reply until it's too late.

Re:Where's the personal info, it's been 20 minutes

[jenkin sear]

According to Spamhaus:

(http://www.spamhaus.org/rokso/search.lasso?evid en cefile=1070:

ABUSERS: Ronald R. Scelson
[Birthdate: 12-11-71 or 72, New Orleans, LA, married]
avsrscelson@aol.com / cajunspam@aol.com / avsrscelson2000@yahoo.com / dff@yahoo.com
Amy Hoolahan [wife/sister?]
43 CYPRESS MEADOWS LOOP
SLIDELL, LA 70460 US
Home: (504) 646-2225
Work: 504-649-6248

PHONE NUMBERS: 888-365-0000 ext. 1648 / 800-242-0363 EXT. 2427
888-724-3108 x5413752
504 781 8117 / 504-957-1037 / 504-847-1232 / 504-649-7751
504-781-6615 / 504-649-6248 / 504-781-6655 / 504-831-1595
504-646-2225 / 504-641-0876
FAX: 504 641 0810 / 504-456-0995 / 504-781-6615

MORE INFO: Connelly sues to keep spamming:
http://www.frc.org/legal/lf99j05.html
http://www.freedomforum.org/speech/1999/10/20laspa m.asp
http://www.mediainst.org/digest/fall1999/pa ge8.htm l
Wife Florence Fox sued for Nu-Skin Pyramid Scheme:
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/press2/mon ths/Feb98 /feb23pr1.htm

Me, I'm thinking some letters of marque and reprisal are the answer...

Ronnie Scelson's Info, Courtesy of ROKSO

[Anonymous Coward]

The Registry of Known Spammers has his contact information, including emails, snail address, toll free phone numbers, etc. Lameness filter prevents posting the whole thing, but here's a peak at it.

ABUSERS: Ronald R. Scelson
[Birthdate: 12-11-71 or 72, New Orleans, LA, married]
avsrscelson@aol.com / cajunspam@aol.com / avsrscelson2000@yahoo.com / dff@yahoo.com
Amy Hoolahan [wife/sister?]
43 CYPRESS MEADOWS LOOP
SLIDELL, LA 70460 US
Home: (504) 646-2225
Work: 504-649-6248

PHONE NUMBERS: 888-365-0000 ext. 1648 / 800-242-0363 EXT. 2427
888-724-3108 x5413752
504 781 8117 / 504-957-1037 / 504-847-1232 / 504-649-7751
504-781-6615 / 504-649-6248 / 504-781-6655 / 504-831-1595
504-646-2225 / 504-641-0876
FAX: 504 641 0810 / 504-456-0995 / 504-781-6615

MORE INFO: Connelly sues to keep spamming:
http://www.frc.org/legal/lf99j05.html
http://www.freedomforum.org/speech/1999/10/20laspa m.asp
http://www.mediainst.org/digest/fall1999/pa ge8.htm l
Wife Florence Fox sued for Nu-Skin Pyramid Scheme:
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/press2/mon ths/Feb98 /feb23pr1.htm

AKA: RONALD SCELSON (NETBLK-FON-106771046442576)
43 CYPRESS MEADOWS LOOP
SLIDELL, LA 70460 US
SCELSON, RONALD (RS928-ARIN) RSCELSON@AOL.COM
5049571037

Re:are you kidding?

[RazzleFrog]

Junk mail is usually paid for using bulk pricing systems, subsidized by the rest of the postal audience.

I'm afraid you have it backwards. Bulk mail, even at its reduced rate, is what allows you to send a letter at 39 cents. Bulk mail is presorted so as to make processing time for the post office almost nothing. Your letter with sloppily written address actually takes time to be read and sorted.

ALso, the USPS is a government sponsored monopoly but it doesn't receive any tax payer dollars. It is self funding.

Finally, large glossy catalogs are very expensive for companies and they are not typically sent to people who haven't shopped in the store before or requested the catalog specifically. They therefore are not in the same category as snail spam.

Re:Uhhh..

[shayne321]

Unless you use the AOL CD as an artificial vagina, you won't get far with that application.

Wrong! Go read this page. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Now, pay special attention to these sections (emphasis mine):

a. Whoever for himself, or by his agents or assigns, mails or causes to be mailed any pandering advertisement which offers for sale matter which the addressee in his sole discretion believes to be erotically arousing or sexually provocative shall be subject to an order of the Postal Service to refrain from further mailings of such materials to designated addresses thereof.

...and...

Both the absoluteness of the citizen's right under 4009 and its finality are essential; what may not be provocative to one person may well be to another. In operative effect the power of the householder under the statute is unlimited; he may prohibit the mailing of a dry goods catalog because he objects to the contents or indeed the text of the language touting the merchandise. Congress provided this sweeping power not only to protect privacy but to avoid possible constitutional questions that might arise from vesting the power to make any discretionary evaluation of the material in a governmental official.

It is not up to the post office to decide that you can't get aroused by AOL CD's.. In a nutshell, what's offensive to you may be miles apart from what's offensive to me, so the Supreme Court decided it's not up to the postoffice to make the judgement call. If you deem it offensive, form 1500 applies.

I've used it successfully to stop CitiBank's incessant bombardment of "you're pre-approved" credit card offers (I was litterally getting 3 a day for a while). Try it, it works.

Shayne