Facebook Wins $873 Million Judgment Against Spammer - GoFuckYourself.com

Barefootsies · 11-24-2008, 02:18 PM

November 24, 2008 03:22 PM

Facebook on Friday won $873 million in damages from a spammer, the largest award to date under the 2003 Can-Spam Act.

The penalty for illegal spamming appears to be rising. Facebook's award tops the $234 million judgment won by MySpace in May against Sanford Wallace and Walter Rines. It also exceeds the $177,500 fine and $1.1 million ill-gotten-gain forfeiture that Jeffrey Kilbride and James Schaffer were ordered to pay in October 2007 for the pair's porn spam operation.

"We've all experienced spam -- those unwanted and, sometimes, inappropriate marketing messages," said Facebook director of security Max Kelly and deputy general counsel Mark Howitson in an e-mailed statement. "The bad guys behind those messages are always looking to find new ways to annoy people and Facebook's users have been among those targeted. We don't take this affront to our users lying down."

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel handed down the award last week following four months of litigation. In addition to the monetary judgment, the ruling prohibits the defendants, Adam Guerbuez and his company, Atlantis Blue Capital, from accessing Facebook for any reason or assisting others in doing so.

Kelly and Howitson acknowledge that it's doubtful Facebook will be able to collect the full judgment. "It's unlikely that Guerbuez and Atlantis Blue Capital could ever honor the judgment rendered against them (though we will certainly collect everything we can)," their joint statement says. "But we are confident that this award represents a powerful deterrent to anyone and everyone who would seek to abuse Facebook and its users."

Like Wallace and Rines in the MySpace spam case, Guerbuez didn't show up in court. "We are going to go after him," said Sam O'Rourke, senior corporate counsel for Facebook, in a phone interview. "We know where he is and we're in the process of executing the judgment."

According to the complaint that Facebook filed in August, Guerbuez, a Canadian citizen and resident of Montreal, is the sole owner of Atlantis Capital Blue, a business entity listed in Internet domain registration data to be in Panama City, Panama.

The complaint names 25 unknown defendants, or "John Does." But O'Rourke said that this is a standard practice, in case additional people are implicated. In this instance, he said that Facebook doesn't expect to charge additional people.

Between March and April, Guerbuez sent more than 4 million spam messages to Facebook users, the complaint states. He allegedly did so by stealing Facebook users' logon details using phishing messages and through data obtained from third parties. He then allegedly used botnets to spam Facebook users' message posting pages, or Walls, with messages from the hijacked accounts of spam recipients' Facebook friends.

Unlike e-mail spam, which is generally viewed and/or deleted in private, social networking spam may have social repercussions. The Wall-post spam was visible to anyone viewing an affected Facebook profile, and appeared to be endorsed by the account owner and the friend who posted it.

People may believe spam messages on Facebook are more credible when they appear to come from a friend, O'Rourke acknowledged. "In that sense, just because Facebook does provide for interaction, it can be more damaging," he said.

"The spam promoted numerous products and Web sites that, on information and belief, are offensive and embarrassing to [spam recipients and the owners of hijacked accounts that sent the spam]," the complaint explains. "The products marketed by these spam messages included marijuana, male enhancement pills, and sexually oriented material."

http://www.informationweek.com/news/...=A ll+Stories

qwe · 11-24-2008, 02:25 PM

he put his company name under his domain whois

StuartD · 11-24-2008, 02:29 PM

Do they really have that much money to give though?

mizmiz · 11-24-2008, 02:48 PM

how much did he make from the spam?

gornyhuy · 11-24-2008, 02:58 PM

Talk about making an example of someone!

brand0n · 11-24-2008, 03:14 PM

i just dont get how this is covered in can-spam when they didnt send 1 single email?

Barefootsies · 11-24-2008, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gornyhuy

Talk about making an example of someone!

aka... sweet justice.

Trixxxia · 11-24-2008, 03:18 PM

Someone that used to post here?

BlackCrayon · 11-24-2008, 03:18 PM

all the craiglist spammers better becareful. spam is spam apparently.

Agent 488 · 11-24-2008, 03:20 PM

CAN-SPAM defines a "commercial electronic mail message" as "any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service (including content on an Internet website operated for a commercial purpose)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN-SPAM_Act_of_2003

a "commercial electronic mail message" leaves lots of leeway ....

just a matter of time before youtube spammers get sunk too ....

brassmonkey · 11-24-2008, 03:21 PM

damn sounds like he was extra paid

Barefootsies · 11-24-2008, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackCrayon

all the craiglist spammers better becareful. spam is spam apparently.

Quote:

Originally Posted by budsbabes

just a matter of time before youtube spammers get sunk too ....

Which will ALSO be known as.... sweet justice.

WiredGuy · 11-24-2008, 03:34 PM

I'd expect a lot of social networks to be beefing up their litigation teams as a result of this. When revenues are down, time to step up new sources of income.
WG

James124 · 11-24-2008, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WiredGuy

I'd expect a lot of social networks to be beefing up their litigation teams as a result of this. When revenues are down, time to step up new sources of income.
WG

I don't see that as ever being profitable... chasing spammers around, I mean

WiredGuy · 11-24-2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James124

I don't see that as ever being profitable... chasing spammers around, I mean

A lot of law firms will work on contingency, no cost to the site in question.
WG

Supz · 11-24-2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StuartD

Do they really have that much money to give though?

it says in the article they doubt they will get all that money, but they will go after him for whatever they can,

11-24-2008, 02:18 PM	#1
Barefootsies Choice is an Illusion Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Land of Obama Posts: 42,635	Facebook Wins $873 Million Judgment Against Spammer November 24, 2008 03:22 PM Facebook on Friday won $873 million in damages from a spammer, the largest award to date under the 2003 Can-Spam Act. The penalty for illegal spamming appears to be rising. Facebook's award tops the $234 million judgment won by MySpace in May against Sanford Wallace and Walter Rines. It also exceeds the $177,500 fine and $1.1 million ill-gotten-gain forfeiture that Jeffrey Kilbride and James Schaffer were ordered to pay in October 2007 for the pair's porn spam operation. "We've all experienced spam -- those unwanted and, sometimes, inappropriate marketing messages," said Facebook director of security Max Kelly and deputy general counsel Mark Howitson in an e-mailed statement. "The bad guys behind those messages are always looking to find new ways to annoy people and Facebook's users have been among those targeted. We don't take this affront to our users lying down." U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel handed down the award last week following four months of litigation. In addition to the monetary judgment, the ruling prohibits the defendants, Adam Guerbuez and his company, Atlantis Blue Capital, from accessing Facebook for any reason or assisting others in doing so. Kelly and Howitson acknowledge that it's doubtful Facebook will be able to collect the full judgment. "It's unlikely that Guerbuez and Atlantis Blue Capital could ever honor the judgment rendered against them (though we will certainly collect everything we can)," their joint statement says. "But we are confident that this award represents a powerful deterrent to anyone and everyone who would seek to abuse Facebook and its users." Like Wallace and Rines in the MySpace spam case, Guerbuez didn't show up in court. "We are going to go after him," said Sam O'Rourke, senior corporate counsel for Facebook, in a phone interview. "We know where he is and we're in the process of executing the judgment." According to the complaint that Facebook filed in August, Guerbuez, a Canadian citizen and resident of Montreal, is the sole owner of Atlantis Capital Blue, a business entity listed in Internet domain registration data to be in Panama City, Panama. The complaint names 25 unknown defendants, or "John Does." But O'Rourke said that this is a standard practice, in case additional people are implicated. In this instance, he said that Facebook doesn't expect to charge additional people. Between March and April, Guerbuez sent more than 4 million spam messages to Facebook users, the complaint states. He allegedly did so by stealing Facebook users' logon details using phishing messages and through data obtained from third parties. He then allegedly used botnets to spam Facebook users' message posting pages, or Walls, with messages from the hijacked accounts of spam recipients' Facebook friends. Unlike e-mail spam, which is generally viewed and/or deleted in private, social networking spam may have social repercussions. The Wall-post spam was visible to anyone viewing an affected Facebook profile, and appeared to be endorsed by the account owner and the friend who posted it. People may believe spam messages on Facebook are more credible when they appear to come from a friend, O'Rourke acknowledged. "In that sense, just because Facebook does provide for interaction, it can be more damaging," he said. "The spam promoted numerous products and Web sites that, on information and belief, are offensive and embarrassing to [spam recipients and the owners of hijacked accounts that sent the spam]," the complaint explains. "The products marketed by these spam messages included marijuana, male enhancement pills, and sexually oriented material." http://www.informationweek.com/news/...=A ll+Stories __________________ Should You Email Your Members? Link1 \| Link2 \| Link3 Enough Said. "Would you rather live like a king for a year or like a prince forever?"

11-24-2008, 02:25 PM	#2
qwe Confirmed User Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 2,109	he put his company name under his domain whois Last edited by qwe; 11-24-2008 at 02:27 PM..

11-24-2008, 02:29 PM	#3
StuartD Sofa King Band Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Outside the box Posts: 29,903	Do they really have that much money to give though? __________________ This is me on facebook This is me on twitter

11-24-2008, 02:58 PM	#5
gornyhuy Chafed. Join Date: May 2002 Location: Face Down in Pussy Posts: 18,041	Talk about making an example of someone! __________________ icq:159548293

11-24-2008, 03:14 PM	#6
brand0n been very busy Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: the queen city Posts: 26,983	i just dont get how this is covered in can-spam when they didnt send 1 single email? __________________ want to buy this spot for cheap? it is of course for sale. long term deals are always the best bet. brand0n/ at/ a o l dot commies.

11-24-2008, 02:48 PM	#4
mizmiz So Fucking Banned Industry Role: Join Date: May 2002 Location: Holly Place Posts: 1,168	how much did he make from the spam?

11-24-2008, 03:18 PM	#8
Trixxxia Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 5,600	Someone that used to post here?

11-24-2008, 03:18 PM	#9
BlackCrayon Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ottawa Posts: 19,631	all the craiglist spammers better becareful. spam is spam apparently. __________________ you don't know you're wearing a leash if you sit by the peg all day..

11-24-2008, 03:20 PM	#10
Agent 488 Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 22,511	CAN-SPAM defines a "commercial electronic mail message" as "any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service (including content on an Internet website operated for a commercial purpose)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN-SPAM_Act_of_2003 a "commercial electronic mail message" leaves lots of leeway .... just a matter of time before youtube spammers get sunk too ....

11-24-2008, 03:21 PM	#11
brassmonkey Pay It Forward Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Yo Mama House Posts: 76,946	damn sounds like he was extra paid __________________ TRUMP 2025 KEKAW!!! - Support The Laken Riley Act!!! END DACA - SUPPORT AZ HCR 2060 52R - email: brassballz-at-techie.com

11-24-2008, 03:34 PM	#13
WiredGuy Pounding Googlebot Industry Role: Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 34,451	I'd expect a lot of social networks to be beefing up their litigation teams as a result of this. When revenues are down, time to step up new sources of income. WG __________________ I play with Google.