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"Buffalo Spammer" Gets 3.5 to 7 Years
jfruhlinger writes "Howard Carmak, aka the 'Buffalo spammer,' has been sentenced to jail time for his spamming activities. Interestingly, the conviction was not for spamming per se, but rather stealing someone's identity, which he then used to launch his spam messages."
From the article:
The jail sentence is the maximum allowed under the law, due to Carmack's prior felony conviction for fraud in a federal case involving fake money orders, McCarthy said.
7 years is the maximum for identity theft? That actually seems a little light. I would think they'd lock him away for 15-20 for something like that. Theft + potentially ruining someone else's credit and/or reputation.
A love beyond compare...
It serves him right for stealing identities. I am still in counseling for getting that email from my grandma telling me to enlarge my penis.
Evolution or ID?
And from another article ...
But your honor, I was trying to run an HONEST business of stealing peopele's time and identitiy! Now I'll have to go back to mail fraud!
I hope he enjoys his term in state pound-me-up-the-ass prison. This is the only thing that will curtail the (domestic) spam problem. Harsh, painful prison sentences.
How does the Slashdot Effect happen given that no slashdotters ever RTFA?
@:o
Hopefully this will set an example for all other spammers...
woohoo
Tell everyone you are in for murder. You'll probably be treated better. Oh and Soap on a Rope.
oh, wait..
He'll surely need a large amount of cigarettes and contraband as dowry for his marriage to Big Bubba.
People say I'm crazy, I got diamonds on the soles of my shoes...
He also announced he planned to spam his appeal to every court in the country.
YEAH!
You can break most of the laws, all of the time, and all of the laws some of the time, but you can't break all of the laws all of the time.
Just think, if Capone had paid his taxes...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
it's still one less spammer!
If I drive fast enough at the red light, it'll appear green.
Send him to South Dakota to graze!
Sorry couldn't resist.
for the last time people, I am "frodo from middle eaRTH", not "middle eaST".
The old cop trick, cant get em for what the biggest problem is, get them for what you can.
Should be this way more often, arrest spammers for using machines they have no proper access to, not for just for spamming.
It truly warms my heart to think that instead of sending out his crap, he will be spending his days picking up bars of soap from the prison showers :)
.. if the freeking comments worked!
Hmmm.
suck it
Yes.
"I think all foreigners should stop interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq"
-- Paul Wolfowitz, 7/21/2003
Not enough!
Everybody, sing along, loud enough so that Howard can hear you all the way over in the Erie County Holding Center!
Nah nah... nah nah nah nah... hey hey hey... good-BYE!
When I read that Howard Carmack told Earthlink, "Nothing is in my name, so you'll never catch me," all I could think was, you arrogant, silly man. These are government agents and corporate attorneys that you're up against. You're an overweight criminal in his mid-30s who lives in a shack in Buffalo. I think they're gonna catch you, and right quick.
Sure enough, they did. In addition to his prison time, Carmack has a multi-million-dollar judgment against him from Earthlink for his misuse of their network.
Have fun in prison, Howard!
You are in error. No-one is screaming. Thank you for your cooperation.
Maybe this will send a messages to those spamming scum!
As much as I'd like to hope that this would send a message, I really don't think it will. Think RIAA, yes we hate them more than pirates (the average person does rather), but they still won't care.
too bad.....
Where the world is going to? Now they are spamming Buffalos too!!! Who's next: Roger Rabbit? :P
he is degrading the good name of buffalo wings. How about something like mayonnaise spammer?
..."enlarge your ... today", 'cause he's not gonna like it.
Commercial speech does not (nor should it) enjoy 1st Amendment protections.
Now, if we could just lock up the people behind those annoying lite beer commercials.
It's simple: I demand prosecution for torture.
Though I hate spam as much as the next person, this sounds like it qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment.
That's how most of the old time gangsters were taken down as well. Since its hard to get people to speak up about the racketerring, and the killing, etc. Just get them for tax evasion (how do you argue with numbers!). Same here, can't get them for SPAM, get them for something thats easy to prove! YEAH...
Because he didn't get nailed for the act of spamming but some other related offense that means that others may not be a deterred.
You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake -- but you could be if you got off your ass.
what is an indentity ??
...of an old case I read about in Cliff Stoll's The Cuckoo's Egg.
A cracker was convicted in Canada in the 80s of "stealing electricity" instead of breaking into a computer.
tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
"The jail sentence is the maximum allowed under the law, due to Carmack's prior felony conviction for fraud in a federal case involving fake money orders, McCarthy said."
Hopefully this implies that the government is realizing that most spammers are already criminals, email is just a new venue to commit the fraud.
that he wasnt arrested for spamming. But eventually enough of these spammers will be arrested (for one reason or another), and hopefully a lot less will spam. Never is spam going to be completly gone, but it will stop all the little small time spammers, and just leave it for the big fish.
Or at least I hope. No Spam is good.
snowulf.com
Steal identity, get caught for spam. haha sucks to be him
The sentence is unfortunately light, but the precedent is nice to see.
--- Bill
Too bad he was convicted under identity theft law though and not jsut for spamming...
Capone went to prison (Alcatraz) on tax evasion. I'd love to see the IRS audit all spammers they can get ahold of. It might drive them offshore, but then we might have a chance at the ISP level to blacklist IP ranges for SMTP traffic.
SPF is a good idea, I get tired of that checklist that says why your idea won't work. It's pedantic and discourages good ideas from being discussed.
If SPAM is allowed to thrive offshore, I see a time when service providers like AT&T are asked to track SMTP and provide governments the figures for - you guessed it - tariffs.
Here's hoping that his cellmate took a steady supply of penis enlargement pills and herbal viagra.
Thats IT!! MORE!
WHOO! Finally he's gone! What took them so damn long?
Shouldn't they have executed him like they do virus writers?
LongTail SSH Brute Force analysis tool is here!
The boy was a cock, justice has been served.
This describes a few people who are using mine to blast their garbage, even at me. I'd gladly collect and turn the evidence over to anyone willing to prosecute.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
mmmmm...buffalo spam
Hello?
isn't really accurate...it's identity theif get jail time. No news here...move along folks.
Always value the individual over the system. --Bruce Lee "I don't need a Sig - I have a custom 191" - me
FP
At first I thought the government was finally cracking down on spamming but in reality its just simple identity theft. He would have been treated the same if he was using identity theft for other activities. I'm glad he's in jail though, but just wished it was for spamming.
Have you ever been to a turkish prison?
Why don't we just inplant a chip in spammers heads that shock them every time they try to use modern technology? Microwave a TV dinner? shock. Send an email? shock. Try to hijack my computer to send out spam? shock. I think there is a sci-bi book (or twelve) with that premise.
How do you steal someone's indentity? I'll bet english teachers everywhere will revolt if people lose the ability to indent.
These days, it's a truth that most spammers have to break other laws to try to get their spam out. It's not like the old days of open relays and a trusting email network. Now, we have worm exploits, stolen identities, account phishing, hacked boxes...the list goes on and on.
We can pat ourselves on the back here, I think. Now that we're as a community becoming aware of the spam problem and doing something about it (like closing down open relays and blocking those who don't), spammers now have to break other laws to get their crap through.
And that makes them targets for prosecution. So, let's all give ourselves a round of applause here. If you closed an open relay, or wiped out a worm, you contributed to this!
Let's all keep up the good work.
Weaselmancer
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
Burn the jerk.
But I have mixed feelings on this. If it was 3.5-7 for spamming, I would certainly say that is appropriate, but for identity theft? This is something that RUINS peoples lives. In a lot of cases, the vitims propogate their anguish to loved ones etc... and some even go as far as committing suicide. Actually, it stinks of the same horror as rape... you come out the other side ruined and broken... and 7 years isnt sufficient.
I personally believe we need to get things back in perspective. If you destroy someones life, whether physically, or otherwise, you should lose yours. You arent fit for our society. BURN.
"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
dreadlock bastard,
There was a buffalo spammer,
In the heart of America
Stolen identity,
Spreading insanity,
Driven from his own home,
To the heart of a cold prison
(sorry to Bob Marley & The Wailers, btw this buffalo spammer deserves his punishment, don't he?)
Would you like an extra 3 to 7 inches. SUre we all would. THat's why if you sign up for Mega stretch, you too can have a longer effect.
It's a good thing for this guy that sentencing for spam doesn't work like that: he supposedly sent 800 million emails using the two identities he stole.
Then again, it wasn't a spam law under which he was convicted and sentenced. But put a few spammers away for 800 million years, and it might help in the neverending fight.
/"You get out of jail about when the Sun has expanded to the size of Mars' orbit."
I am glad this guy was caught and convicted, and I'm glad it wasn't for spamming. It always amazes me how people want new laws targetting spam, but most of what the worst spammers do is already against the law and they can be targetted for that. Advertising fraudulent products is against the law. Pyramid schemes are against the law. Hacking someone's system and sending email from there is illegal. I have no problem with spam that doesn't the law in the sending. If you have a legitmate email account and send email from it, and don't make false claims, then you are using the email system as intended.
If you want to go after spammers, there are plenty you can go after suing existing laws. We don't need new laws specifically for spam anymore than we need new laws specifically for music sharers. Use the existing laws.
"Information wants to be expensive" - Stewart Brand, the same guy who said "Information wants to be free"
It certainly would appear that identity theft is perhaps the best way to prosecute these spammers. If they are not using their own address, then they are stealing the use of someone elses. If they can successfully prosecute a series of these cases, spammers may be forced to use their real addresses. At least the ethical ones... hahahahah.. sorry
For what its worth, MD just increased the penalties for spammers.
jr
I hope he drops his bar of soap in the shower. A LOT!
I really couldn't be happier with the way this is turning out. I hate spam as much as the next guy, but all of this is leading to a lot of legislation I'm not sure I want there. Thats a matter of opinion and I don't truly want to debate. What IS true here without a doubt is that many spammers are engaging in illegal activities in addition to spamming. Spammers are BAD people and there are things they deserve to go to jail for other than that.
All he ever wanted to do was help you improve your sex life, get a great deal on a mortgage, and improve your job prospects with an instant Ph.D. from the University of Southern Uganda. Now look at how we shun this man among men.
~Someday, I hope to be an aspiring author.
or am i still banned?
hrmmmm...
/me applauds the jury.
I run aberdeen angus and was completely unaffected by this.
Good.
(Spudley Strikes Again!)
no really
looks like no more mailing for me.. :(
Wouldn't it be considered fraud to make an email appear from someone other than the real sender or on behalf of the real sender? It is theft to steal or hide behind another persons ID as your own.
GeneralKael -- Slacker Extraordinaire
Kill them all! C'mon!
YEA!!!
Is it 5:30 yet?
"Why can't you be more like your brother John, Harold? Simulating bloody massarcres and building amateur ICBMs: that's normal! The viagra adds in the neighbors mailboxes have to stop!"
No mention of what the counts were (other than the vague mention of being related to identity theft) exactly.
Is this precedent setting for spam cases, or is this just more case law for identity theft?
No link for further details...if I didn't know better, I'd suggest it was written by a regular Slashdot commenter who couldn't be bothered to do any more leg work to support their point.
So, any one know of a link for more information?...
Reason why there is hope for the future generation #364:
"I wish my grass was emo so it could cut itself."
They should put this guy in a small cell with nothing but a TV and a bed, and force him to watch nothing but annoying commercials all day long. At the end of a long day of being berated by advertisements for things he doesn't want or can't use, he'll look forward to 'lights out' - until they start piping the radio commercial network into his cell. Until he's been the recipient of 800 million plus useless advertisements, justice has not been served.
...some folks seeing jailtime for causing my delete key to wear out early!
I'm glad they got this guy, I hope this is a preview of things to come!
..a second for every spam mail he sent?
I thought his name was 'Carnack,' for those old enough to remember when Johnny Carson was host of the tonight show.
Was gonna say he shoulda seen this comin'.
This is not the sig line you are looking for... -- Old Jedi Sig Line Trick
Now I wonder if Snotty Scotty Richter is worried.. He Should Be
People Talking in Movie shows.. people smoking in bed.. people voting republican.. GIVE THEM A BOOT TO THE HEAD!
Buffalo spam...yummy...
Have you read my blog lately?
when spammers get the same penalty as Virus writers.
What... you mean they weren't serious about the death penalty? Maaaan... why you gotta be teasing us like that!
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living."
- Seneca
We need more of these prosecutions. Many more.
lock it up...throw away the key
Often here we see that new technology doesn't necessarily require new laws. Arresting and charging a spammer using someone else's identity to avoid being caught and held responsible is a good way to round these people up. It avoids the free speech issues completely.
$#!^ happens, but why does it always have to happen to me???
We have to pay for his bed, three squares, and medical bills, etc.? Instead of taking his property and garnishing his income for many years for a net profit for the state? Highly illogical, and very emotional. Ah, sweet revenge. Ain't it beautiful?
What?
In the words of an X-man:
'Nuff said.
stole someone's identity and got time for it? What's the interesting part, that he happened to do it for the purpose of spamming? Doesn't seem like big news, really.
Spammers Die! FP!
FP hahaha
..is the first post?!
As has been said a million times it will be hard to convict somebody for spamming but it is a lot easier to get identity theft and good old fashioned fraud to stick.
I'd rather see him get busted for actually spamming, but if its his low-down and dirty tactics for doing the spamming that got him busted, then Kudos to law enforcement for catching him.
Memories become legend, Legend fades to myth, and even myth is forgotten by the time that age comes again.-Robert Jordan
...and that was to not kill him!6 234&mode=thread&tid=123&tid=98&tid =99
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/05/27/135
Big Dig-ing until the money is gone...
So does that imply that you can't take someone to jail for spam? Or was it just easier to convict him on identity theft charges? 800 million...*boggles*
>insert witty sig file here
As long as spamming is profitable to SOME person in power, it will continue to dodge the legal obstacles people try to set up for spamming. However, it was good that this guy got bagged in SOME manner, even if it was not directly related to spamming per se.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
and it sure is red hot!
GOOD.
Hope he's got a good firewall, cause I have a feeling he'll soon be penetrated.
oh ya!
Slashdot "libertarians": Small government for me, big government for those I disagree with. -1, I disagree with you
Good now we can spam using his name
He will get sodomised by big bubba who bought some penis enlargement pills from the spammers spam.....
I came, I conquered, I coredumped
Buffalo Spammer won't you come out tonight.
Come out tonight.
Come out tonight.
Buffalo Spammer won't you come out tonight.
Aaaaaaand...
Dance by the light of the moon.
(Argh! Now I have to go take a shower...)
There is something wrong when one has to resort to "identity theft" laws in order to jail someone for sending out over 800 million spam e-mails.
But, this trial and sentencing does prove wrong the commonly voiced arguments that anti-spam laws can't work because it will be impossible to catch spammers and because they are outside of the U.S. This guy spammed. He was in the U.S. He was caught, tried, and jailed. The only flaw is that they didn't have an anti-spam law under which to prosecute him.
Theoretically the people whose identity was stolen should be able to sue him for fraud / defamation of character / etc., but it's not likely that he's got huge quantities of money around if he's paid Earthlink any of the $16M civil judgement they got.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Hopefully his cellmate hasn't been ordering the penis enlargement pills his stupid ass has been peddling.
Hang 'im high.
Excellent, now people might stop spamming first posts.
Script snip from new moview: Silence of the Mail Servers
Buffalo Spammer: It takes the spam filter off or it gets the hose!!
I think I speak for everyone when I say, SUCK IT DOWN, BIATCH! I'll be sure to hang up on you when you phone me from your new telemarketing job in prison, for $0.35/hr.
Or better yet, I'll keep you on the line and ask you if you want a free University diploma!
I moderate "-1, Fool"
Did he steal John Carmack's identity?
Buffalo soldier... dreadlock rasta
Welcome to federal-pound-you-in-the-ass prison, Spammer!!!!
-j
...where spammers fall on the prison pecking order. Will they be considered "beneath" rapists and child molesters, and subject to beatings and forced salad-tossings? Let's hope so!
Here's the original Earthlink case.
That Buffalo Spammer gets put in the same cell as Buffalo Rammer.
The article says he got the sentence for identity theft, not spamming. So while we can't execute him, we can blame him for those asinine CitiBank commercials with the overdubbed voices.
"Why Subscribe?" Good question...
Ah, here we go. Cue the threads about how this is not a global solution and won't make any difference in the long run.
But... like it or not, the RIAA seem to have scared would-be mp3 swappers off the P2P networks with their heavy handed tactics - perhaps this will at least make would-be spammers think twice?
biopowered.co.uk - catalytically cracking triglycerides for home automotive use since 2008. Just say no to big oil!
1. Change surname to carmak ...
2.
3. Go to jail / profit / make rocket ships
He gets to use email in prison, but instead of using spam filtering software, he can only use the opt-out link at the bottom of each message.
$8.95/mo web hosting
I bet he doesn't want to help his mates there to increase their penis size.
first post!
woo hoo !!
next
Oh, wait, that's a different Carmack.
When you engage in illegal or unethical activity, it becomes easier and easier to do slightly more unethical/illegal things until you're doing really STUPID things, and get caught. I would laugh at him, but I'mm better than that ... no, no I'm not.. hahahaha - dork.
meh
This is stupid. Do people actually think that sentencing one guy to jail will deter the other thousands of spammers, many of whom aren't even subject to the same laws?
Even if it does succeed on a measurable scale, it'll just make those remaining to send spam that much richer.
Anytime, anywhere, when a spammer gets jail time, a death sentence, raped, shot, stabbed, beaten, pursued by goblins, eaten by robot men or robot dogs, burned, molested by snakes, bitten by wolves, dipped in acid, exsanguinated, trampled by cattle, or lost at sea...
Say what you will of New York, but that Elliot Spitzer gets things done. He'll be getting my vote when he's up for reelection.
And I'm not surprised that Howard Carmack is in Buffalo. There isn't much to do there unless you like cold weather and hanging out at Wal-Mart. At least he had a hobby!
I really hate signatures, but go to my website.
Identity theft is a bigger crime than sending unsolicited emails.
Too bad the identity he stole didn't happen to be a cops, then he could face federal time for civil rights violations.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Prisoner: What are you in for? Spammer: Uhhh sending spam, what are you in for? Prisoner: Rape, and I'm really going to enjoy you, since I started using my new pecker enlarger and viagra.
tis may or may not amke fp
What? No death sentence?? Damn!
Looks like he'll have to get used to his inbox being filled up on a regular basis.
How he got caught.
ya gotcherself a lynchin!
Prior conviction for fraud, stealing identities to send out 800 MILLION e-mails. Hope he doesn't drop the soap...
Well, he's a felon for doing fake money orders, and then he gets involved in identity theft. He gets caught on both accounts. Not a smart spammer.
Not only that but he lost a suit to Earthlink for $16 million.
I'm glad they're starting to do something about spammers (although this is starting off with the identity theft). Does anybody know about the other case versus earthlink?
I hope this is a start to shutting these people down. Yeah I know wishful thinking, but I hate to see such a useful tool get shut down because a few greedy assholes.
first post bitches
--
QDB.us
Working yet?
Hmmm.
and don't drop the soap!
This Space for Rent.
Quake 4 pushed back 3.5 to 7 years
errrrrrr wait...
------------------------------ SirPhreak - "It's Thinking..."
Who would have thought those penis enlarging pills would come back to be such a pain in the ass?
not for mercatur
There seems to be a posting issue.
Shit, now they're never going to release Doom 3.
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Problems regarding accounts or comment posting should be sent to CowboyNeal.
Have never seen an article go so long without a response.
Is he allowed to use computer in jail? Radio? Electric toothbrush?
Hopefully the first of many!
Will he have e-mail access there? Is there an adress?
What the article doesn't mention is that Carmack was also indicted and convicted on 14 counts of forgery and falsifying business records.
Again, it's important to note that the conviction had little to nothing to do with him spamming or his using any electronic form of communication at all but rather with his business practices (of course, that didn't stop both the court and the prosecution to use this case to send a clear message to other spammers).
However, it's also the end of an era. Todays US spammers are pretty much out in the open, with a few big boys on top, and a multitude of hungry hordes prowling below. On the other hand, it's nice to see folks like Ralsky do some time considering the vast economic damage they're inflicting.
Going forward, the indictments in the US mean that spammers will go abroad, work from abroad, and stay abroad to stay out of the clutches of the US law enforcement officials. Eventually, even the more backward legal systems will identify spam as bad business and move to stop them. However, considering the pace at which legal systems change vs. the speed at which spammers adapt, I'm not holding my breath.
From what I can tell, the spamming rings have already adopted new techniques, such as using compromised Zombie-farms of virii-infected computers to send their wares instead of a "real" server. Tracking down the guilty under such circumstances will be a much greater challenge for folks like Spitzer, pareticularly if the operations the spammers are spamming for are abroad as well.
I can only hope that this arms race between those who want to use e-mail as the legitimate tool it is and those who want to abuse it will hopefully come to a good end. However, I'm not holding my breath. Considering the vast sums of money a little spam can generate, there simply is too much incentive to find ways around blocks, identification schemes, and other ideas floating out there.
Pity.
And I hope he gets what's coming to him while he's in jail too
I would think he should get longer... I mean.. if for nothing else, just for principle!
the start of something good.
The precedent has been set!
Now let's get the rest!
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
What we need to nail the spammers with is spam laws! It's good to see one less spammer out there, though. Not that it'll make a difference.
--
www.nitemarecafe.com
piss?
How much really is this a deterrence to other spammers? The extent of public commitment, investigation, and expenditure to bring these types of cases to trial is so enormous, that I see it unlikely to happen against the midsized or small time spammers. The very few big fish that are netted with this judicial approach, will be quickly replaced by the small timers looking to make their mark in the field.
While I applaud the sentencing, I don't think it will make much of a dent in the overall problem. Fixing SMTP might. But I could be wrong.
--
sign here please
"pound me in the ass prison" jokes
Great, now he will run his operation from prison at the tax payers' expense. There's a good chance he will teach those idiots in the big house how to spam too in exchange for a pack of cigarettes and soap-on-a-rope and make millions in the process.
Is there really that much money in spamming buffalo?
Huxley
PS Please forgive me, I just couldn't help myself...
Of course, that makes one wonder - buffalo spam? Hey, for all we know, spam's been made of buffalo since WWII! Mmmm... buffalo...
read topic
A lot of spam seems to violate pre-existing laws. If we dealt with those cases, I think most of the worst stuff would disappear pretty quickly.
than what he desevers . I also got my indeitie stolen by spammers. hand themm all
Roberto rosti
So what's the real amount of time that he will be locked up? I hear that being sentanced to life can be shortened to 7 years with good behavior and the like.
There was all kinds of mean, nasty and ugly-lookin' people on the bench there
--there was mother rapers--father-stabbers, father-rapers! FATHER-RAPERS
Sittin' right there on the bench next to me!
And they was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible and crime fightin' guys were
Sittin' there on the bench, and the meaniest, ugliest, nastiest one--the
Meanest father-raper of them all--was comin' over to me.
And he was mean and nasty and horrible and all kinds of things, and he sat
Down next to me. He said, "Kid, what'd you get?"
I said, "I didn't get nothin'. I had to pay fifty dollars and pick up the
Garbage." He said, "What were you arrested FOR, kid?" and I said,
"Litterin'."
And they all moved away from me on the bench there, with the hairy eyeball and
All kinds of mean, nasty things, till I said, "And sending hundreds of thousands of unwanted email message...."
And they all came back, shook my hand and we had a great time on the bench
Talkin' about crime, mother-stabbin', father-rapin', --all kinds of groovy
Things that we was talkin' about on the bench, and everything was fine.
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
Let me be the first to say it:
Burn you miserable piece of shit.
I hate spammers, and the fact that this numbnut actually stole someones identity to do it... He deserves what he gets.
Looking for Book Reviews? Check out Literary Escapism.
One spammer less, two millions to go!
This will never succeed.
.... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....
Beautiful - hope this is the start of a trend.
...Also, I didn't know Buggalo could fly.
i'm a hoe
signed - your mom.
am i going to get arrested now?
because buffalo SUCKS!
lamer first post yay.
Buffalo spammer gets 3.5 to 7 years
IDG News Service 5/27/04
Paul Roberts, IDG News Service, Boston Bureau
A New York man convicted of using the network of Internet service provider EarthLink Inc. to send out hundreds of millions of unsolicited commercial (spam) e-mails was sentenced to between three-and-a-half and seven years in prison Thursday, according to Brad Maione, a spokesman for New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
Howard Carmack of Buffalo, New York, also known as the "Buffalo Spammer," was sentenced by senior Erie County Judge Michael D'Amico in Buffalo. The sentence is the first obtained following a conviction using the state's identity theft law, Maione said.
Carmack was found guilty in April by a jury in Erie County, New York, on 14 counts, including charges that he stole the identity of two Buffalo-area residents, which he then used to send out more than 800 million spam messages, the attorney general's office said.
The New York State case followed a civil suit against Carmack by EarthLink that resulted in a US$16 million award against Carmack in May, 2003.
EarthLink cooperated with the Attorney General's office in its investigation and testified against Carmack in the criminal case, according to New York Assistant Attorney General Paul McCarthy.
The jail sentence is the maximum allowed under the law, due to Carmack's prior felony conviction for fraud in a federal case involving fake money orders, McCarthy said.
Paul F. Roberts is U.S. correspondent for the IDG News Service.
frist post son!!! gg
I thought spam was mainly pork.
09F911029D74E35BD84156C5635688C0
Jesus loves you, I think you suck
... it takes to put them behind bars!
What can you do about the "Viagra spammer" and the "Enlargment spammer"?
THANK GOD!!!
Sometimes ya gotta get Al Capone for tax fraud rather than murder. But you still got him.
I hope spammers around the world take not and tremble in their boots.
"Times have not become more violent. They have just become more televised."
-Marilyn Manson
Carmak, in his jail cell for the first night of his long sentence, with "Tyree," or "Bubba," or whoever; specifics are not important, just that the individual is large, mean, and notoriously maladjusted. It is now lights-out, and quiet falls over the prison.
As Carmak cowers under the covers of the lower bunk...
"I bet you don't want ME to have a bigger penis now, do you, boy?"
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
The max sentence is a bit much, but 3 or so years for what he did sounds more then adequate.
Spamming is a pain in the ass, and this guy did use shady means to actually begin his spamming.
Do you think this guy is likely to re-offend on release? I doubt it.
END COMMUNICATION
There goes the last available job in Buffalo.
Buffalo Spammer gonna get jailed tonight, get jailed tonight, get jailed tonight!
Buffalo Spammer gonna get jailed tonight, ha ha, go to hell!
Thank you, I'm here all week.
Buy the President
About Fing time.
FP
When is the execution?
A spammer had a prior felony conviction!?
.sigs are for post^Hers.
Now he ain't nothin but spam in a can. Or is it *the* can.
M
pirst fost
How proud am I to be from Buffalo New York? *Wipes tear from eye* First the Unabomber, then Oklahoma and the the Lackawanna 6, and now this! There must be something in the water supply ... I am going to go do something stupid now. Go Bills!
woo hoo! first post!
death to spammers!!
i'm a hoe signed - your mom. am i going to get arrested now?
I was the original "Buffalo Spammer", and he outrageously stole my nickname.
The nerve of those people. The nerve.
stealing someone's indentity, which he then used to launch his spam messages
How long until we find out that the real spammer used Howard Carmak's identity to spam and is still on the loose?!?
Good
What does this mean for the millions of Trojaned Windows boxes whose "owners" are sending out spam by the truckload? Can they prosecute by IP address ownership a la the RIAA?
Striking fear in the authors of godawful fanfiction, I am here, appearing in darkness, Tuxedo Jack!
Hmm... judging by the recent lack of comments the /. server could be full. First slashdot effect (ish) home goal? :)
biopowered.co.uk - catalytically cracking triglycerides for home automotive use since 2008. Just say no to big oil!
is sent by people who could be jailed for illegal/unauthorized access to someones computer (refering to the zombies that launch so much of it now).
If only we could catch them and prove it...
I have no pity for scum like this. I'd make him pay back every penny he earned as well.
Good. Now maybe he'll have time to finish Doom 3.
It's been over 5 minutes since I saw this appear on /. and no one has posted so it's up to me. :)
Now, for the more serious point: good. The guy deserves it. A flogging would be even better but I'm sure some on here would complain that the punishment is too harsh for the crime.
I've often wondered why spammers can't be prosecuted under various state/federal laws regarding using a false identity or offering goods/services under false pretenses.
Maybe someone who IAL can enlighten us on this matter.
Although the headline claims the man was convicted for "spamming activities", this case actually has little to do with laws against spamming. He was convicted of "identity theft", not "spamming", just like anyone else would have been convicted. It just so happens that he's a spammer and the reason why he was caught was because he was being investigated for spamming. Remember, Al Capone wasn't convicted on his mafia ties, he was convicted on tax evasion.
Subtle, but different. I'd have preferred he had been convicted on the spamming part itself.
hOw does that bob marley song go? first post goatlickers!
I guess the court didn't read the slashdot solution to dealing with spammers?
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
But it isn't funny.
It's cathartic, but it's not funny.
Stop Prison Rape.
First we try to drive them to extinction and now they're being targeted for spam. I bet they wish they really did have wings so they could fly away from all of this.
--
As a matter of fact, I am a lawyer. But I play an actor on TV.
If I were to go out into the street with a megaphone at 3 am and yell random, annoying things, I would soon be arrested for disturbing the peace. There are laws against being annoying.
Those laws would seem to butt heads with laws protecting freedom of expression, but there are clear cases when a person is merely being annoying and cases where a person clearly is speaking out. The weaknesses of law show through in the edge cases.
Forging an email address to send spam is clearly not an edge case. The interesting cases will be bulk mailings by political partisans.
The laws are written not because of some philosophic ramblings, but because people want them there in order to live comfortable orderly lives.
...if those 3.5 to 7 years are spent hanging by his balls.
too bad he didn't get sentanced for spamming...
Seems he also had prior felony for fake money orders.
"The jail sentence is the maximum allowed under the law, due to Carmack's prior felony conviction for fraud in a federal case involving fake money orders, McCarthy said."
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." -Albert Einstein
Karma? There's a serial modder out there.
I wonder if he'll regret selling penis enlargment pills while the good 'ole boys in the pen are breaking him in.
--Gentoo Baby!
2. Place spam strips and 1 cup Louisiana-style hot sauce in a bowl. Mix until strips are coated.
3. Place strips on a baking sheet, leaving at least one inch between strips.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes or until they start to smoke.
5. Serve with toothpicks, beer and televised sports.
Have you read my blog lately?
is this my first first post?
I'm really glad I can rape a child or murder someone and serve the same sentence as someone who abuses the e-mail system.
America, home of the free! Well, as long as you're violent and sexually repressed.
(Yes, I live in America, and no, I don't hate it.)
I usually thought of spammers as such nice honest, wholesome people. Who would've ever thought one of them would be involved in such blatantly illegal activities like identity theft? Next thing you're going to tell me spammers are involved with hijacking home machines via worms and trojans to use as spam relays. *rolls eyes*.
Now someone start a rumour in the jail that he was peddling child pornography too. Let him get a nice warm welcome.....
First? Whooohoo!
Can't we fast-track the death-penalty idea (from a Slate article mentioned in a earlier article) and make an example of this fella?
Well, lets hope that sends a message to the rest of the US spammers out there!
.co.uk addresses?!? Muppets!
Most of the spam I get is related to American Products... include home finance and cheap Canadian drugs.
Why send products that are only available to US citizens to
Auto-check your UK lottery lines
good
INCREASE THE SIZE OF YOUR |3UFFAL0 3.5 TO 7 YEARS!
MAKE BISON FAST!
--
E_NOSIG
Hmmm.
I coulda sworn I got a confirmation my post went through. Oh. well.
... are like ricers. They think people actually care about their shit.
What does this mean for the millions of Trojaned Windows boxes whose "owners" are sending out spam by the truckload? Can they trace it and prosecute via IP addresses and ad campaigns?
Striking fear in the authors of godawful fanfiction, I am here, appearing in darkness, Tuxedo Jack!
now that hes in jail, does he know that he can increase his penis size by 20%?
While I applaud the conviction, I wonder if this will really serve as a deterrent to other spammers given that he wasn't convicted for spamming, but rather for identity theft - or is spamming always tied to identity theft (vs. using a fictitious identity)?
I suppose that if all spammers are also guilty of identity theft, then this is good news (although wouldn't a fraud conviction carry a greater sentence though?).
It may not be the main crime he's guilty of, but at least it gets him off the streets (or 'Net).
Good riddance.
Don't just game, Dungeoneer
For impersonating a buffalo
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
That's because as of yet there are really no laws against sending email. You may think it's spam, but really it's just somewhat objectionable free speach.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
but I think a thousand people are also trying to do it at the same time...
But I guess this won't really discourage spammers from spamming, but from identity theft.
Hope he gets to meet satisified customers of Cia1is and Viagkra in prison and experience their "joy" first hand. Now if only there was some way we could stick him with the bill for his accomodations rather than having Joe Taxpayer foot it.
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws-Plato
About time the fool got what he deserved. Hopefully this is the start of a trend.
Same s**t, different day
It's about now that he's regreting sending all those emails to help men add 2-3 inchs. He'll get to find out first hand how much it helped.
He got off easy! According to a previous story today, he should be executed!
firstpost!Please try to keep posts on topic. Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) Problems regarding accounts or comment posting should be sent to CowboyNeal.
cool beans either way, so long as this guy can't continue his evil ways. capone was thrown in jail for taxes, but it kept him from mafia'ing.
I wish that I was a catfish.
Gets convicted of fraud again. At least the system is begining to work. Why am I not surprised that a guy who used to forge money orders now has been stealing people's earthlink accounts to send out spam?
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
Up to 7 years in jail. $16 million dollars poorer. Now if only one of his *ahem* satisfied customers is his cell mate ... :)
*blinking cursor*
And just think - since he's the Buffalo Spammer, maybe his fellow prisoners will turn him into...Buffalo Wings!! Eh? Eh?
Ah, hey, what're you doing?!
It's just a bad joke, you bastards!
"By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth." - George Carlin
they cost more money than most vandals, it's best some of them get caught, and if they do, punish them well to set an example !
Artists against online scams http://www.aa419.org/
Fuck you spammer!
Time to get RAPED BY NIGGERS!!!!!!111
Has anyone ever served jail time or been fined for spamming ?
ok
Or it gets the worm.
Only thing worse than a spammer is someone who pushes untested code to a production server. Wonder how much time they'll give someone like that?
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
If someone spams me, it's annoying and I have to spend 1 second hitting the delete key. If someone steals my identity, I have a lot more serious problems than that.
Saying that "we actually convicted the spammer on identity theft charges" makes about as much sense as "that guy we caught going 75 in a 65 zone, we actually took his license away on drunk driving and vehicular assault charges."
FIRST POST!!! (doesn't anyone else have anything to say about this story?)
I've got my robe and wizard hat.
I think the warden would benefit from the solid experience of the Open Source developer community. Their knowledge in the intricate patterns of social culture in penitentiaries and their appreciation of tatoos would make them ideal contributors for such a project.
Robert Morris, who wrote the first worm, was convicted of "theft of service" - apparently, he "stole" the CPU cycles his worm used.
To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
--E.C. Stanton
Took a long time for something like this to happen considering.
Most spammers aren't just spammers, they're also commiting fraud, identity theft and often comprimising vunerable windows boxen. Throw the book at them.
Seriously though,
This has little to do with spamming at all. It was using identity theft for a money making scheme.
Wake me up when there is something pertaining to SPAM laws.
A CAN-SPAM conviction would be interesting. I can see him being prosocuted in the future with harsh penalties.
Sigs? We don't need no stinking sigs!
AWESOME now other spammers might slow down... OR go to third world countries (*sight*)
talk about being put out to pasutre.
You are unique, just like everybody else.
steve
for a first post?
What do you know about World Politic? Find out in this quiz
After half an hour...?
That's because as of yet there are no laws against sending email. One person's spam is another's free speach.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
I cam only assume, that with ~30 minutes passed since this story's posting, and no comments, that no one has anything of note to say.
A moment of silence for Howard Carmak, who will undoubtedly get 'spammed' quite a bit during the next 3.5 - 7 years.
They should have ordered his sentence to be as long as it takes him to receive 100 million spam emails over a 2600 baud modem and delete them one at a time.
A shame they couldn't actually put him away as a spammer, though.
Come to the University of Mars! Classes starting soon!
What's that someone said a few minutes ago on the other discussion about executing spammers....?
Drill baby drill - on Mars
Which one is worse?
3-5 years in jail, or 3-5 years in Buffalo?
Does it make you happy you're so strange?
FP?
Well, let us hope sincerly that none of the inmates used any of his 'bigger penis' products that he advertised :)
:)
:)
:)
If they did, and it worked, poor old Mr Buffalo will probably end up with an asshole the size of a buffalo
"Gee thanks Mr Buffalo! I bought your bigger penis products! Now bend over beatch, and I'll show you *just* how big and wide it is"
Ah hahahahahh aaaahhhh
Sweet Justice
w00t
I certainly don't give two shits in a biscuit about this story.
Next plz.
A tough united stand is what we need to get rid of spam. Filters, large fines (unless they're -really- large) and self-policing restrictions won't.
This reminds me of how Al Capone (I think) got thrown in jail for tax evasion.
----- Wtcher Dragon, UDIC
Is Slashdot broken?
Sigs? We don't need no stinking sigs!
Robert Morris, who wrote the first worm, was convicted of "theft of service" -- apparently, he "stole" the CPU cycles his worm used, so the prosecuted him for stealing the monetary value of those cycles.
To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
--E.C. Stanton
Maybe I will have a few less email to go through. 995 instead of 1000 spams.
Now i guess he will find out if the male enlargement pills work.
you love it!
The question is would he be going to jail if he was spamming using his own identity?
spammers need to be taken out of the system forever.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
What was he trying to sell them? Cow attracting pheromones, horn extending pills?
His brother John must be pissed at him.
there
along with the script kiddie who wrote sober and netsky!!!...On the serious I think the punishment is appropriate and for the record I don't agree with capital punishment.
Well... no, not really. Serves'em right. Now if only they could get telemarketters in there as well...
Daniel
Carpe Diem
Wow, nothing like a blurb that essentailly reads:
"This happened. Actually, that's not true."
Attention deficit disorder is a complicated issue, spanning several major... HEY LET'S GO RIDE BIKES!
So THAT'S why I kept receiving penis enlargement offers from Ann Coulter! That explains it!!
"You're getting brutal, Sark. Brutal and needlessly sadistic."
"Thank you, Master Control"
-Sark and the MCP
frist ps0t?
YEAH
Identity theft hurts the individual and its criminal, but spam hurts everybody and it isn't?
Clueless lawyers or clueless lawmakers?
Now if they can just lock away all the other Spamming dirtbags (with special punishment dished out to Snotty Scotty Richter), then it'll be a good start. Spammers have gone lower on the detestability scale than lawyers.
How exactly has this affected our inboxes? Doesn't make the slightest bit of difference. The odd thing about spam, is that it must work - if it didn't, then people wouldn't do it. So, perhaps another form of attack against spam in the long term is to teach people not to trust unsolicited sales pitches and not to buy things from spammers.
Still it's a step in the right direction for ending SPAM.
/AC
It probably won't end spam as long as there's the gigantic lure "MONEY" in it, but
it WILL set an example for many - not to plunge into this somewhat lucrative business of
pestering our everydays.
If we just got all the other countries to make a proper "uni"-law against spam that could
be taken seriously and ENFORCED strictly...we'd have a lot less spam.
I'm glad that a spammer has been removed for doing something an awful lot of spammers do - spam from other people's addresses.
...} :P
If they had to spam from their own, then a spam filter would be easy! block all from {megaspam.com, all4spam.com, spamulike.com,
Hopefully this will send a message to other spammers, although since the majority are in other countries and won't obey the law anyway...
Meanwhile in Jail, inmates have added him to their "My new Bitch" list. Carmak has complained repeatedly that their unsubscribe feature is both inhumane and doesn't work, which has led to arthritis in his right hand.
FP!!
Seriously though...
This has nothing to do with spam laws. Plain and simple identity theft prosocution.
Wake me up when he is prosocuted for breaking the CAN-SPAM act, he is asking for the additional penalty sections.
umm... is this thing on?
Sigs? We don't need no stinking sigs!
Isn't this eventually what got Kevin Mitnick? Not the hax0ring, per se, but more identity theft and credit card fraud?
Not the first couple of times, i'm talking the last one that required Markoff and Shimomira to chase him from SoCal to NC and resulted in his multi-year incarceration.
foo.
do() || do_not();
Spammers being arrested, what about the people who put up fyers on my car windshield in parking lots or keep sending me credit card offerings in the mail
He regrets selling those penis enhancements now.
the conviction was not for spamming per se
Until we actually see convictions for actual spamming, ie forged headers, etc, then I have no faith in the justice system to fix spamming. Even then I have little faith. Technological problems require technological solutions.
But in this case, couldn't of happened to a better guy.
Why, o why must the sky fall when I've learned to fly?
excessive.
Yas I read the article. He has a prior felonies, and he stole 2 people's identity.
from the article, it seems like he used the identites to send spam. Not exactly devastating. If he had used thoose ID's to charge credit cards, buy a car, etc.. then a couple of years in prison would be adequate.
Considering how full our prisons are, and how tight state budgets are, perhaps there could be better solutions? Community service springs to mind.
He should also be responsible for undoing harm to the people whose identities he stole. We all know what a pain it is to call the credit card companies, and find out what we need to do to prove it wasn't us and get any marks removed from are credit history.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The FA claims 14 counts, including identity theft. Are we sure that spamming wasn't another count?
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.
No! Not his indentity! The victim's life will be ruined!
-140 spam messages in the morning..
<^>_<(ô ô)>_<^>
Man, this guy really strikes me as the scum of the Earth. It's too bad the law doesn't allow a stiffer penalty for what he's done. Still, at least they were able to apply an existing law to the case.
I really do get sick and tired of kneejerk lawmaking by politicians who really don't understand the technology they are regulating/outlawing. If I were to scream bloody murder that spammers should get the death penalty, I'm part of the same mentality that gave us the patriot act and the department of Homeland Security, and calls for criminal suits against P2P users.
The Digital Sorceress
"The Register of Known Spam Operations (ROKSO) database collates information and evidence on known hard-line spam operations that have been terminated by a minimum of 3 consecutive Service Providers for serious spam offenses.
200 Known Spam Operations responsible for 90% of your spam.
90% of spam received by Internet users in North America and Europe can be traced via redirects, hosting locations of web sites, domains and aliases, to a hard-core group of around 200 known spam operations, almost all of whom are listed in the ROKSO database. These spam operations consist of an estimated 500-600 professional spammers loosely grouped into gangs ("spam gangs"), the vast majority of whom are operating illegally, and who move from network to network seeking out Internet Service Providers ("ISPs") known for lax enforcing of anti-spam policies."
Losers choose to abuse the use of "loose".
But this is a happy, happy day for mankind. This guy sent 800 million emails. That must be 0.1% of the daily spam total.
The conviction had nothing to do with spamming. That's just the activity he engaged in while using the stolen identities.
Of course, one has to wonder how long it'll take him to pay off the $16 million civil settlement while working in the prison laundry.
If an Identity theft convict gets 3.5 to 7, how much will a spam convict get? It's great that one is down, but how many more will take his place, and make sure not to make his same mistakes? The penalties could (and should) be harsh, but we have to catch them first, I suppose...
If you can read this, you are most likely close enough.
No posts yet? This story sure shut everyone up!
Its about time.
As the message says, he wasn't imprisoned for spamming but:
Carmack was found guilty in April by a jury in Erie County, New York, on 14 counts, including charges that he stole the identity of two Buffalo-area residents, which he then used to send out more than 800 million spam messages, the attorney general's office said.
Also, It's damned good that earthlink cooperated - i wonder how many ISPs just wouldn't want to deal with it thus letting spammers get by.
And Finally - just to quote my favorite part:
The jail sentence is the maximum allowed under the law , due to Carmack's prior felony conviction for fraud in a federal case involving fake money orders, McCarthy said.
*finally* the system is working in favor of the little (annoyed) man.
Prior felonies? Doesn't this guy know what damage he's doing to the spammer image?
You! Yes, YOU! Out of the gene pool!
Yippy
So THAT explains all of the penis enlargement offers I've been getting from Ann Coulter!!
"You're getting brutal, Sark. Brutal and needlessly sadistic."
"Thank you, Master Control"
-Sark and the MCP
I could guess but then I would not get this post.
The article mentioned that this guy punched out 800 million spam e-mails through that one account. That's enough to give three spams to every man, woman, and child in the United States three spams.
Maybe there are a lot less spammers than I thought, and they're just really, really bad.
small step for a spammer,but a big one for humanity!
Haaaa-ha!
hang brain.
Or are there are not comments being posted? Is there a star trek marathon on UPN or are the servers kinda slow today?
I must say I do like the idea of annoying bugger doing jail time. The down side is where does it all end? Identity theft is a serious crime but does it really require prison time as a punishment? If he ruined live perhaps - but spam?
"Capital punishment makes the state into a murderer. Imprisonment makes the state into a gay dungeon-master"
mmmmm, buffalo spam.
Best Windows Freeware
HA HA!
...like getting the mob with tax fraud, right?
Seriously though...
This has nothing to do with spam laws. Plain and simple identity theft prosocution.
Wake me up when he is prosocuted for breaking the CAN-SPAM act, he is asking for the additional penalty sections.
umm... is this thing on? Hello?
Sigs? We don't need no stinking sigs!
Convict 1: "So Mac... whatcha in fer?"
Convict 2: "I dun killed a man with my bare hands... you?"
Convict 1: "Beat a McDonald's guy for messin up my order."
Convict 2: "Hey you... yeah you over there... the geek looking dork... whatcha in for?"
Howard Carmak: "uhhhh me? I'm a spammer who stole someone's identity."
Convict 2: "Well I guess that makes you the bitch in this cell.. he he he..."
Convict 1: "Naw Mac... that makes him the piggy... lets make the piggy squeal!"
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"
For spamming the Appeals Court to overturn his conviction.
I'm going to immediately send this to everyone in my address book and instruct them to do the same!
including charges that he stole the identity of two Buffalo-area residents, which he then used to send out more than 800 million spam messages
Who would've thought there were two Buffalo-area residents with the names "Big R. Schlong" and "Haute Yung Bebes"
This announcement does my heart good. Howard Carmak got his due for his actions though not directly just like Al Capone received a sentence for U.S. tax evasion instead of murder, racketeering etc.
When a person is a scum bag in one area this trait seems to wash over into other facets of their lives.
Harpo Tunnel Syndrome--my wrist feels funny.
Identity theft, on the other hand is illegal, so he goes to jail.
I know of no law anywhere that makes spamming a criminal offence. Now maybe CAN-SPAM defined some thing that can lead to a fine based on how email addresses are collected, but collecting email addresses is a lot different than spamming.
Could this be the first spammer that has been caught and sentenced?
I bet that buffalo was really pissed off when he found out his name had been stolen.
We should send him to Australia for a good booting
Slashdot: 24 hours behind every other site or your money back!
Half an hour since posting and still not a comment. Even the trolls and the first-posters don't care :P
Now in the can!
-Dave
Perhaps we should start executing spammers along with the worm writers. Or would that not be economically viable?
fp??
He got off light if the story from earlier is anything to go by!
"Physics is to math as sex is to masturbation." -R. Feynman
jail food sucks
FP?
---
Content-Type: meat/buffalo
We got two birds with one stone. A spammer whose also an identity thief.
Now we can only hope that for every spam he sent his teeth will sink just a bit deeper into the pillow...
Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
I'm Proud to be from buffalo, what after our four lost Superbowls andthe "no goal."
Now he'll have a lot more free time to do generate SPAM.
1 down... a bagillion more to go.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
Finally!
Can we please execute him too?
In all seriousness, we need to have some sort of crackdown on spam. The levels of pure crap are increasing faster than even a combination of SpamAssassin and Thunderbird's Bayesian filtering can catch up with.
Throwing slimebags like Carmak and Alan Ralsky in jail for a few years might help reduce the spam levels. While the servers may be in China, the ones running these large spam operations are right here in the US. It won't stop spam, but it will at least reduce the flow.
But it's interesting to note they mention nothing about a fine. I would think that he should also forfet all profits too...
wanted: one clever sig,apply within
Too bad he didn't get convicted for spamming. Than again, being the "spam bitch" in jail isn't going to be good for him!
Bend over, bitch. I hope he likes his shit in reverse.
First post I HOPE :D
But this is a good thing, but in my strange country killers get the same sentence sometimes...
Think about it
Nice Start. Now only several hundred thousand, maybe more, to go.
Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
I don't really mind how they got him in....but at least he is in jail.
... with any luck his cellmate ordered some penis enlargement medication.
GETPKG - Package Management for Slackware
What, no execution?
Schrödinger's cat is not amused—maybe.
No way...
Word Axis
about damn time
...not executed. :-(
His cell mate is a big fan of the movie Deliverance.
Now he won't be able to unsubscribe me when I click the link.
The latest Slashdot meme.
Could I be first? Or do we have a bug?
'Carmack the great' (It had to be done - really!)
I'm going to immediately send this to everyone in my address book and urge them to do the same!
If he is not convicted for the spamming itself, that could the door open to spam people under your real name without being convicted.
This is totally insecure, but very convenient.
Whack his pee pee!!
Wow. Nice little sentence. I know it wasn't strictly for the act of spamming but for the acts of fraud that were committed in relation to the spamming, but this is a good victory and something for the other spammers to consider. I know it's only a drop in the Atlantic relatively speaking, but any victory for the side against spammers is a sorely needed victory.
They should make him spend his time filtering spam all day long. (Maybe give him electric shocks when he gets it wrong to keep him honest.)
Let's go Hurricanes!!! 2006 Stanley Cup Champions!!!
stealing someone's indentity
that is new
...several million other spammers to go...
Lets get em all....
I hope this sends a message to all Buffalo out there that I'm gonna eat you!! Buffalo Burgers are so tasty!!
Buffalo Spammer won't ya come out tonight
Come out tonight
Come out tonight
Buffalo Spammer won't ya come out tonight
Aaaaand...
Dance by the light of the moon.
Thank you all. I'll be here all week. Be sure to tip you're saloon maid.
how will it affect his business?
I bet spamming is a lot like Monopoly, in that you can still make money from jail.
Is he serving time in the Heisenberg Uncertainty Corrections Center?
If you post it, they will read.
If only it was under a spamming law.. I might be happier. But still.. one less spammer sending me crap. But I can take a litle comfort.. They have internet access in Attica. Bubba's gonna finally be able to reply to that enlarge your penis email.
---- You have been programmed by the Illuminati to not see the word ""!
he goes to a jail where his cellmate is named Bubba or Leroy or something like and that his cellmate thinks he has a "real purty mouth".
Then justice will be done!
No trees were harmed in the composition of this; however, numerous electrons were inconvenienced.
Hope he likes his cell mate's "spam" in his ass.
Is the comment system broken, or is this topic just not interesting?
Maybe if they saved some money by switching to Windows Server 2003 (lower TOC! Just see banner ads running all over this site for proof!), they could afford a better admin.
While the boundary between legitimate email and "spam" is fuzzy, almost all of what we term "spam" is going to have something nefarious behind it. Why? Because legitimate business ALMOST NEVER sends completely unsolicited email as a promotional practice. They know better. So, the best way to get the spammers, rather than outlawing "unsolicited commercial email," is to wait for the spammer to screw up. Almost certainly, he will be doing one or all of the following:
1. Fraudulently misadvertizing or misrepresenting products (bait-and-switch)
2. Fraudulently using someone else's idendtity when sending the spam
3. Just plain swindling folks out of their money.
Get all of these spammers when they screw up, and you'll eliminate 90% of spam.
dinner: it's what's for beer
Does it mean that if I spam under my real name I am free to do it?
This is totally insecure, but very convenient.
Im proud to be from buffalo. What after the "No Goal" and four lost Superbowls.
Not that I'm comparing homocidial transexual-wannabies with spammers, no sir-ie bob! It would explain the identity theft though.
I bet those murderers and thugs in jail will love this guy...
spammer guy: b-b-but Im a marketer!
thug #1: shuddup you in my world tubby!
thug #2: whoo! fresh meat!
Seriously, It's only 1 down, but thats a start... Maybe this will have a chilling effect on the "Industry"
What are we going to do tonight Brain?
...he wasn't executed.
to say BWAHAHAHHAHA. Oh - that's too rich.
No need for intelligent insight on this.
While the crime is not entirely related to spamming, it shows that local law enforcement is getting "clever" with its prosecution, in the same way federal authorities, when unable to get felony convictions like murder against organized crime bosses turned to tax evasion and fraud.
Interesting.
Homer Simpson reads the article and goes "Mmmmm, Buffalo Spam!"
...his cellmates introduce the "Buffalo Spammer" to the "Cleveland Steamer".
Test post.
help fill in hidden movie endings @ End of the Credits
Hope he likes his call mate's "spam" in the ass.
Bend over spam bitch.
I'll be modded as flamebait because we all know Bush is evil. Right?
Well, you'll be modded flamebait because we all know bush is evil.
You'll also probably be modded offtopic, because shrubya (and/or his administration) has nothing to do with this article.
So, I really don't see the big deal about this article. Identify theft has been a problem for awhile. Yeah, the guy spammed people through the use of someone's stolen identity, but...big whoop.
So here's the question. I RTFA, and there are no details on the "identity theft" thing. Does 0wn1ng someone's underdefended box count as "identity theft", and if so, is that what they got this guy for?
And - more to the point - if not, could the law be construed that way? In other words, can we prosecute spammers for impersonating customers of fooISP by using their zombied boxes to spam?
Just a thought.
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges.
Commercial speech should absolutely be as protected as other speech.
What people tend to do, and Americans in particular, is to confuse "freedom of speech" with "guaranteed right to an audience". Preferably on somebody else's bill.
And THAT particular bird is not going to fly.
You have the right to say whatever you want to say (well, almost, nowadays). You do not have the right to force me to listen to any of it. You do not have the right to force somebody else to carry your message.
Does that mean he stole personal/credit info to fund his spamming scheme, attached the names of others to the email crapulence which he distributed, or just joe-jobbed other people's email addresses/servers in the "FROM" field when sending to those he spammed?
Nice to see another spammer get nailed, but the article is a bit sparse on such details...
Hopefully he has a computer connection in jail, so he can use this site to find a name.
~S
A nerdy overweight white guy in his thirties going to the can? He should tatoo tits on his back now and get it over with.
-B
Loser.
I am stunned that a Slashdotter is taking credit for something with which he had nothing to do.
I'm just a buffalo spammer,
In the heart of America...
Singing, woe yoe yoe, woe woe yoe yoe
Woe yoe yoe yo, yo yo woe yo woe yo yoe
His cellmate is "in" for killing a spammer.
Hmmm.
emt 377 emt 4
They just need to be there. SPAM is so popular because, until now, it was a more or less no risk bussiness both finincally and legally. It cost very little to get in to and you weren't going to get in trouble for what you were doing. To lessen the amout of spammers, we just need to make it unattractive. Doesn't mean we need to lock them up for life (appealing though that may sound), just a reasonable prison sentence combine with seizing all their ill gotten gains.
Most spammers will then quit. These aren't hardened, fear nothing, criminals we are talking about, they are sleazy bussiness men that see this as an easy, low risk way to make a buck. Show them it's not low risk, most of them will knock it off.
There will still be some, of course, there is always somebody stupid enough to try something, but I think it can be kept to a minimum, in the US at least (which is where the majority of it starts anyhow).
Why, yes.
People say I'm crazy, I got diamonds on the soles of my shoes...
No, I want a law against spamming. Not just spamming, but telemarketing, direct mailers, junk mail, small-print that opts me into mailing lists as soon as I buy something from a business, roadside ads, ads on buses, those fucking sandwichboards on the sidewalk....
In other words, I want to be exposed to advertising only when I explicitly choose to, or only when using a service or attending an event that I can reasonably choose to not use/attend (e.g. broadcast TV, concerts, sporting events, etc).
Sometimes, the system works.
He was jailed because he stole someone's identity, not because he spammed. 7 years is the maximum sentence for identity theft, which he received as a result of having a prior felony conviction.
Let this be a lesson to us all: Spammers are all, without exception, CRIMINALS. The would would be a much better place if each and every email spammer were to receive a lead pellet injected into their skull at high velocity.
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
He's nerdy, he's overweight, but he's not a white guy.
You are in error. No-one is screaming. Thank you for your cooperation.
If we didnt have anitpsma laws in the works, would he have found the need to steal identities to get fraudlent email accounts to send from?
not trolling, serious question.. i dont know the answer to this. it *seems* to me, if there were no laws against spam (which it again, SEEMS you are saying we dont need them), then he could just open XXXX number of free aol accounts and send spam that way all day long. so, afai,, we still need spam laws. am i offtrack here?
>7 years is the maximum for identity theft? That actually seems a little light.
How about seven years and the victims get to pick his cellmate?Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
...the actual manufacturers of bogus penis enlargement pills, quasi-legal drug sales of Viagra, and other such snake oil companies. The actual spamming agencies are half the problem - the other half are the scumbags who hire them and turn a blind eye to their practices.
"...Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam..."
I know someone, a salesman, who's spammed before and made some money from it. He'll spam again in a heartbeat, except that there is so much spam now that it's not worth it. People can only read so many emails a day (yes, you and I don't read spam, but many others do, don't kid yourself).
If you were to bring down a whole bunch of the current spammers, the amount of spam will be reduced, for a little bit. Then this salesman, and countless others like him, will get back into spamming themselves and increase the amount once again. He won't break any existing laws, he'll just send straight spam until his ISP cuts him off, but by then he's made his money.
Arresting spammers for unrelated crimes is not the answer. The answer is to fix the internet so spamming is hard and to make spamming illegal.
Just commit massive credit card fraud! Your cellmate will do the rest. :)
+5:offtopic,but anti-American
All commercial speech is advertisment. Whether it is a spot on TV, or a statment about the working conditions in a corporation's factory. It is all about the speaking entities commercial interest.
The public has a vested interest in these statments being accurate (or at least not being lies), hense truth in advertising laws. Given the fact that all commercial speech is advertisment, I believe that truth in advertising laws should apply to all commercial speech.
"I'll have a Guinness, no wait, make that a Coors Light" -Grad student I work with, who shall remain anonymous...
I'm just wondering; if someone plants zombies and uses them to send spam, is that a prosecutable case of identity theft? Your IP address can be tracked down and linked to you, and a case can be made that the spammer is hiding behind your identity, pretending to be you.
If this could be established in court, then every spammer that uses zombies to spam could be tried for identity theft.
It's also possible that the same precident could be used for people who do DDOS attacks.
I just put in "Howard Carmack"
And it came up with this...
"Ass Cunt"
It's all over for him...
Ouch, His dance card would be filled out every night, only he won't get to 'see' his dates.
His only human contact should be via electronic messages with each message sent to him being among 10,000 unfiltered spam messages. Let him waste his life sorting through messages just as he's done to so many others.
Violent prison rape is *funny*?
3.5 years in jail maybe enough to set this guy right with decent society. Depends on how tough it is in jail and if he understands doing this again will get him in for more time. Frankly they should shut him in a completely mind numbing boring place with nothing to do all day but look at the walls. Maybe add something insidious to the punishment like repeatedly showing the same 30 minute sitcom episode over and over with out stop at a moderately loud volume. It would have to be something with an annoying sounding actor in it like Gary Chandelling. Maybe it's even funny, at first and even a dozen times over it's bearable, but 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 3.5 years. lets see.... 48 times a day by 365 time 3.5 = 61,320! I bet he wouldn't make it past 2 or 3 days with out crying.
It is when it's done to people like this. Think of it as "additional correctional encouragement."
You shouldn't be applauding prison rape. I don't care what a person did, they don't deserve to be ass raped till they bleed, or become Bubba's for protection.
In particular spam is annoying but does getting ass raped really fit the crime? Put yourself in their shoes, your a small geeky guy faced with 5 to 7 and your choice is hook up with someone and get it up the ass by one person, or not and the whole prison will gang-rape you. Phsycologically, you've lost all control in your life and you begin to despair and lose hope. If you're lucky your suicide attempt succeeds, because if the prison guards suspect that you attempted suicide to get away from the general population, they will throw you back to wolves, where you can die a slow painfull, tortured death from the nightly ass-poundings you receive.
That's not even funny.
It's a serious issue.
To learn more:
http://www.spr.org
cat sig >
You have email. Spam is just use of the email system. you may not like how it is being used (and I don't either), but it is nothing more than use of the email system (baring the illegal use I talked about earlier). Email is designed so that anyone can send a message to another person if they know the email address of that person, and that is exactly what is happening. If we make it illegal to send someone an email without their express consent, then email might as well be dead. If I want to send you an email because I liked your /. comment (assuming you are not the AC you are now), I can't, even if you put your email address up, since I don't have your express consent. How do I get your consent to contact you if I can't contact you to get your consent?
Email was designed as an open system, and that is the way it should stay. If you want a closed system with controls on who can use it, design one and use that instead of email. But don't complain when people use the email system exactly how it was designed.
"Information wants to be expensive" - Stewart Brand, the same guy who said "Information wants to be free"
Spammers are all, by their very nature, sociopaths and criminals. They were pulling illegal stunts like this well before CAN-SPAM, which barely does anything to spam as it is. Look up Parker v. CN Enterprises/Nowak
Spammers are scum, every one of them. They know that their intrusions are unwanted, so even without antispam laws they will try to hide their acts of theft and trespass through phony names and email addresses.
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
At least it doesn't deserve a troll rating. And for what anyways? Use of two exclamation marks?
???? How is the idea of paying someone to rape someone else funny?
Seriously, are the mods and ac Abu Graihb Guards?
What a bunch of savage inhuman cunts.
spamming has the same kind of complete disregard for personal dignity. i agree that in real life, it's a harsh thing to applaud (and harsh is putting it far too lightly), but there is a certain poetic justice to it.
i would kill at about the same point i would spam. It's Just Wrong.
(i would assume that plenty of spammers are ex-jocks with thriving social lives, too. it doesn't seem like that "geeky" an occupation to me. just one that requires a basic disregard for others' quality of life, and a hefty chunk of greed.)
I don't think too many people actually find this statement amusing.
Victimless crime.. explain to me how something can be a victimless crime, or, if some action really is victimless, why it's a crime.
Alito: A vote for Alito is a punch in the eye to put that bitch back in her place!
Well maybe not the identity theft but the spam, spyware, viri, etc. keeps us techies in business. If al was calm an everyone used Linux instead of Windows, why would we need half of the IT jobs today?
These people keep the ball rolling.
he's a person with irreplaceable years of life
It is nice to meet a compassionate individual here on slashdot but keep in mind how many aggregate "irreplaceable years of life" this scumbag cost others in filling up people's inbox with junk or having to spend time setting up filters, etc. !
like repeatedly showing the same 30 minute sitcom episode over and over with out stop at a moderately loud volume.
Instead of a sitcom, show users opening inboxes full of spam, hold his eyes open, and force him to listen to music which he otherwise liked and drew a perverse pleasure from, just before sending out spam, after a week or two release him to society where he cowers in fear at the mere sight of an email box...he returns to his parent's house where he is shunned, his buddies spam the heck out of him, and some crazy libertarian he spammed mercilessly before could take him in and rehabilitate him...
just saying...
-Arn
20 years in prison for something that, while annoying, is totaly repariable? That's taking away a quarter of someone's life.
I think 1 year in jail is enough to deter the vast majority of people from doing anything. (certanly anthing thing 'financial') Beyond that, people simply don't think they'll get caught.
What the hell is the point of locking someone up for 20 years for ID-theft, or fraud. It's not like anyone was physicaly harmed. Sentancing needs to be fair, not just to punish people however much you want, just for the hell of it
(and locking most people up for 20 years will probably end up costing more then the value of the crimes they commited).
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Ah yes, it's a wonderful life...
Buffalo Spammer won't you come out and play?
Come out and play?
Come out and play?
Buffalo Spammer won't you come out and play?
By the light of your cellmate's moooooon!!!!
And while people get upset over the horrifying abuse of prisoners in another country, others are more than happy to make fun of the horrifying abuses suffered by prisoners in their own country.
Current Karma Status: Roadkill
Please.
Nobody will give you the time of day if you get your identity stolen, credit card companies laugh it off, the FBI will blow you off. Now, I hate spammers and this is great, but WTF this is strange to see people other than the victim actually caring about identity theft all of a sudden.
...as far as the spamming goes -
:P
Make him travel around the country, on his own nickel, and apologize in person to every individual he spammed. Each said individual gets one swing at'em.
"People" using "unnecessary" quotes should be "shot".
Move the raped prisoners to Iraq. Then they'll get sympathy.
Current Karma Status: Roadkill
You're right of course. It's not funny with this happens to a person.
But when I think about it happening to a spammer, someone who stuffs my email with unwanted crap about enlarging my penis and such, I laugh until I almost piss my pants. Now he can find out what it's like to get stuffed with enlarged penis crap.
Hahaha...!
Now he can get some hands-on experience helping men enlarge their penises.
That sodomy is something that goes on in hell, according to these people, as so it's a kind of punishment. If you're in jail (and not wrongly convicted), they have no pity for you. If you're in jail and you're doing the raping, then you're going to hell, so they don't care either way.
This is lazy people's thinking/rationale (roughly). And, yes, most Americans are lazy.
THIS THING CAN TURN ON A DIME, MACROSSZERO STYLE ALSO FUCK BETA, ~NYORON
And I thought the eight amendment of their constitution outlawed cruel and unusual punishment. Every American is very keen on the constitutionally protected right to free speech, and most claim the constitution supports their position on gun ownership (whether pro- or anti-). I find it illuminating that the 'cruel and unusual' bit is considered a joke...
Vino, gyno, and techno -Bruce Sterling
This is the most idiotic argument against spam laws I have ever seen. There is not one single proposal that has ever sought to ban the sending of all email without express consent. There has always been something more involved. Usually the "more" is either that the email was sent in bulk, that it was sent for advertising purposes or that there was other fraudulent conduct.
The AC was right.
i know at least one person who made a living as a developer at a spam company. he was a developer, and that's it. spent 3-5yrs (i dunno exactly, i am approximating) working there, and eventually found a "better" dev. job that also didnt have all of his friends lambasting him for his career choice.
/. a criminal activity, but that wouldnt make me a criminal at heart, just someone in violation of the law. i guess my point is.. yes, there are probably a LOT of shady scammers out in russia etc doing spam-trade. i suspect there are also a lot of semi-normal people elsewhere (us, canada, etc) who just happen to have some lax moral interpretations of what is right and wrong as far as bulk emailing goes. I spent 2 yrs as an admin for an adult dotcom. doesn't make me a disgusting pervert (like most of the clients of the site haha ;).. just a guy who wasnt bothered by the site content, and wanted a steady paycheck + the ability to telecommute.
to say that all spammers are criminals.. i dont think so. at least, not criminal-minded. we could legislate posting on
i will lookup the case you cited, when i am less busy.
Drug possession is an indication that you're willing to turn yourself into a partial lunatic, a menace to others and also to anyone dependent on you. The injustice here is that alcohol, an addictive drug responsible both directly (85,000, third most frequent "actual" CoD and twice as frequent as MVAs) and indirectly for many thousands of deaths every year, is legal to possess and use in any amount.
Sodomy spreads disease rapidly (for example, there's a reason that far more homosexual men die of AIDS than any other group), so it needs regulation as a disease vector. It is also likely to be directly physically damaging, so if we regulate any form of self-abuse, then we must also regulate sodomy if we are to aim for fairness.
Note that on the above table, "sexual behaviour" (which would include heterosexual promiscuity, AKA "sleeping around") kills more people than illicit drug use, and MVAs kill more than both combined, so the statistics say we should be spending our efforts on condemning alcohol first, then qualifying our drivers better. But even alcohol accounts for only 20% as many deaths as smoking - and those deaths are lingering.
Just in case you don't get the point, the drugs which are already legal and regarded as "mostly harmless" are killing more than half a million Yanks a year. Do we want to make this worse, or better?
Cigarettes are also the leading cause of death by fire.
There are so many ramifications which you've glossed over to claim "victimless" for your two examples that it's hard to know where to start picking your assertion apart.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
buffalo spammah dreaded impostah there was a buffalo spammah stealing part of America Stole my decision, sent to prison ay yay yay ay yay yay ayy BRAP BRAP! ay yay yay ya yay ya ya ya
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
...for tools-of-trade, fuel bought for the getaway car, things like that.
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
Yeah? How do you put a corporation in jail? Can you rape a corporation? Can you make it laugh or cry? Can a corporation worship or hate? What goes in the "cause of death" field for a company?
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
That would be a perfect kick in the nuts.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Spammer gets jail time! (Oh, BTW, it was for identity theft.) That's like saying "Parking violator gets life in prison!". Stupid.
"A nerdy overweight white guy in his thirties going to the can?"
That's an image I didn't want. I wish you'd said "going to prison".
First you have to find a compramised computer, you have to find it while it is compramised. You also then have to get some kind of record, and no a text logfile doesn't cut it, that shows that a given IP address hacked that system. Then you have to associate that IP with said spammer.
That's damn hard to do. I don't log traffic to my computers, and neither does my ISP. So if something I have gets hacked, I'm SOL. Espically in the case of a SPAM bot. With a normal hacking for shell access or something, they are going to be connecting to you again. With SPAM bots, they just need to infect the computer, and then can basically leave it alone.
So even if I notice, inform the cops, give them consent to monitor my connection, and they decide it's worth the resources (it ain't free to run an EtherPeek box and have someone analyze the logs), there's stilla slim chance that the spammer actually connects to it ever again.
Much easier to track it on the other end: Get the spammers shit, and see what he's been doing with it.
Common law enforcement tactic against organised crime, actually. The criminals will slip up and break some law that gives the authorities probable cause to get a search warrant. They then can seize everything, and often find information that leads to the big crimes.
He's a repeat offender who has probably caused harm to millions of people with his spamming. He has probably committed hundreds of crimes for which he'll never be caught. He should be in prison for life. As it is, we get a few years before he starts victimizing us again.
It takes work to catch these guys. Why would law enforcement agencies work hard to catch these people if the end result is community service?
Because spammers are causing a serious worldwide problem, and because they are hard to catch, they should receive exemplary sentences that make headlines around the world. If you have to let someone out of prison due to overcrowding, let out pot smokers or pot dealers. Or just move some parole eligibility dates forward. It would be more just to release people who have already served most of their sentence than to give this guy a free ride.
And forget about him undoing harm. As a professional fraudster, he is not trustworthy. I don't think his victims want him anywhere near their credit card info or accounts, even if he's claiming to help.
When every one of Earth's 6.4 billion inhabitants get on the net and decide they want their one free speech per user, we'll have approximately 40,960,000,000 messages to get through.
To make the sums as fair as possible, let's consider the most long-lived humans (the Okinawan's) as typical recipients; on average they live a smidge under 80 years (2,522,880,000 seconds).
So that's
QED: Free speech is worthless unless a similar right exists for selective listening.
boakes.org
It's not like the old days of open relays
As long as AnalogX's Proxy is around, those old days will still be here.
Well, okay, not as in they like to board ships and plunder booty, but they actually do hijack resources forcefully from innocent people. It's a lot closer to piracy than copyright infringement is, anyhow. From now on, instead of spammers, we should call them pirates, and confuse the hell out of the RIAA.
WWJD? JWRTFA!
The spammer got 3.5 years; with compression, that's 7 years.