By GARY GENTILE, AP Business Writer
The popular online hangout MySpace.com has sued a Colorado man once
accused of being one of the world's top three spammers, saying the man
gained access to MySpace profiles using stolen passwords and used the
information to send spam bulletins.
MySpace, which is owned by News Corp., claims Scott Richter and his
various companies, including OptInRealBig.com and Mediabreakway.com,
sent millions of junk messages to members using technology that made
the messages appear to come from individual members' accounts.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles and
asks for damages, an injunction preventing Richter and his companies
from accessing MySpace, and repayment of all profits gained as a
result of the activity.
Several calls to Richter were not returned Monday.
Managing its rapid growth has been a challenge for MySpace, which has
fallen prey to people who launch spam attacks.
Unlike random unsolicited e-mails, which are readily identified as
junk, the spam bulletins on MySpace appear to be sent by trusted
friends, giving them an air of legitimacy.
Spammers are able to send the fake messages by planting viruses that
post spoof login pages, asking users to re-enter their username and
password. The spam program then logs into the account and send the
unwanted ad messages to a person's friend list, which in some cases
can number in the tens of thousands.
The lawsuit claims Richter either spoofed login pages to steal
usernames and passwords in a "phishing" scam or acquired a list of
names and passwords from a third party.
The messages include come-ons offering free ringtones, Lacoste polo
shirts or other items, the lawsuit alleges.
MySpace has gotten more aggressive in fighting spammers. In recent
months, the company hired Hemanshu Nigam, a former federal prosecutor,
to head its security efforts and is rapidly expanding its team of
software engineers, lawyers and other experts who look for suspicious
activity, educate users on how to prevent attacks and go after the
worst offenders.
"We're committed to protecting our community from phishing and spam,"
Nigam said. "If it takes filing a federal suit to stop someone who
violates the law and damages our members' experience, then that's what
we'll do."
In 2005, Richter agreed to pay $7 million in a settlement with
Microsoft Corp. over spam messages. He also settled a similar lawsuit
with then-New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer alleging
Richter made millions of dollars from unsolicited e-mails.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.
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Gary Gentile, AP (