Facebook Wins $711 Million From Spammer
Facebook has won a multi-million dollar payout from spammer Sanford Wallace.
Social networking site Facebook was today awarded $711 million in damages in a suit against serial spammer Sanford Wallace.
The LA Times reports that Wallace sent millions of unsolicited emails to registered Facebook users, tricking many of them into divulging their login information or redirecting them to sites that paid him for each visit. A judge yesterday said that the spammer had acted with blatant disregard for Facebook users.
"Wallace willfully violated the statutes in question with blatant disregard for the rights of Facebook users whose accounts were compromised by his conduct," U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose said, according to the LA Times.
Now $711 million is a lot of money, especially when the person you're trying to extract it from is a total crook. But it seems Facebook is fully prepared to wait for the cash.
"While we don't expect to quickly collect the full amount, we'll work hard to get everything we can," Simon Axten, a privacy and public policy associate at Facebook, said in a statement.
In addition to the damages, Wallace is not allowed access Facebook. That's right, no poking for you, sir!
- NSA Building $1.5B Cybersecurity Data Center
- Court Awards $16.5 Million in Wii Death
- Metal Gear Developers Addicted to Dating Sim
- JVC Blu-ray Recorder Has Old-School VHS Too
- Man Thinks He's in Silent Hill, Blacks Out Hospital
- Nintendo's Profit-making Machines Slowing Down
- Play RPG Games Using Google Wave?
- Egypt Advising Cell Phone Users on How to Behave
- Best Buy Selling Droid for $200, No Mailer
- PlayStation 3-related Losses Hit $4.7 Billion
- Apple Kills Pre Syncing With iTunes Update
- Councilors Resign En Masse Because of Blogger
- Walmart.com Selling Diapers and Coffins
- Pirates Buy More Music Than Non-Filesharing Peers
- Apple Bookmarks Spark Ereader Rumors
- Mozilla Releases Firefox 3.6 Beta
- Microsoft: Speech Will Be The Next ''Touch''
- Long-range Taser Uses Grenade Launcher
- Blacksn0w Unlocks iPhone for All Carriers
Now 7 11 will sue for copyright infringement for making a judgment that is similar to their name. Also judgments like these are ridiculous since he'll never be able to pay.
I've learned to recognize your posts just by the title.
Whenever there are some non-tech, inquirer looking news...that's you posting.
I'd comment about the subject in question...if it didn't look like news from TMZ
good luck getting one cent from that weiner
Was Microsoft invested in Facebook 300million...
It worth only 50million now, after such cash flow...
711 million, guy doesn't have anywhere close to that much money let alone will he pay any of it.
This one was a no brainer. I'm wondering about criminal charges.
I bet not even $700,000 he could pay.
To jail for a while they could say.
I've learned to recognize your posts just by the title.Whenever there are some non-tech, inquirer looking news...that's you posting.I'd comment about the subject in question...if it didn't look like news from TMZ
Can't even be bothered to address me by name?
I suppose posting news about Asus' plans for an android netbook or indeed their new USB 3.0 mobo isn't tech? Oh yeah, JUST the thing you'd find on TMZ.
Go ruin someone else's friday, Troll. I'm in too much of a good mood to let you get to me today.
I've learned to recognize your posts just by the title.Whenever there are some non-tech, inquirer looking news...that's you posting.I'd comment about the subject in question...if it didn't look like news from TMZ
Since when is internet spamming 'non-tech'? That's unnecessarily rude. And I'm unnecessarily rude regularly so I know what I'm talking about.
Everyone got 711 millions in their pocket... I will be surprise if their are able to get 1000$...
Sorry,
I gotta admit i just skip android related news lately.
"Somebody launching android based someday"...times 200.
Who cares!
Good job with the Asus PRESS RELEASE though, now where are the tech news, such as http://www.tomshardware.com/news/C [...] ,8966.html and http://www.tomshardware.com/news/N [...] ,8968.html ?
Have a great weekend
And hey ukgooey...
Internet Spamming is tech...but it isn't news.
Now the results of a court about it...gotta be even less tech related (and won't affect any of US).
It's not like PB is getting crushed...it's just a waste of time.
I think that was the clown that hacked my facebook account. Lock him up.
After appeal it will be $711.00. There are no criminal charges because they cannot prove that he violated any criminal statute. Facebook's alledged "damages" are so speculative as to be comical.
Good message to send though.
I think that was the clown that hacked my facebook account. Lock him up.
You're retarded.
So Facebook gets a payday because their users got screwed by a spammer? Shouldn't the users get the money because they got spammed while using Facebook?
Yipee for Facebook getting more money....
I totally agree with doomtomb. What about the people who lost all their personal information. Think of the damage that could be done with names, addresses, birth dates, phone numbers, etc. This is all common information on Facebook. So why does Facebook get paid when there could be hundreds, even thousands of people who have had their identities stolen?
I dont use nor like Facebook but i respect that some find it useful ( and some turn into nolifers for that alone.. :S ) For me they rather send him to jail and take his money away. Facebook doesnt need more money, really..
Lawsuits against big companies work like this,lady liberty holds the scale and both parties put money on either side. The side with the most money wins.
And hey ukgooey...Internet Spamming is tech...but it isn't news.Now the results of a court about it...gotta be even less tech related (and won't affect any of US).It's not like PB is getting crushed...it's just a waste of time.
It will affect us if it stops it happening again. I hate spam. It's nice to hear that the perpetrator has been punished, even if the fine never gets paid.
And hey, if you think you can come up with several unique and relevant articles every day then do it or stfu. If you think it can be done better show us how. Just post your own article on this thread by this time tomorrow and I'll offer you my critique.
$711 million is a rather exacting number, i assume that he may have made quite a bit of cash spamming. Otherwise why not just $700 million I mean once you get past the first $100 million the rest is really just chump change right?
Good going FaceBook.
I hate spammers and scammers...
I've learned to recognize your posts just by the title.Whenever there are some non-tech, inquirer looking news...that's you posting.I'd comment about the subject in question...if it didn't look like news from TMZ
If your such a god damn good judge of Journalism submit some articles yourself and let's see how your judged.
From the formatting of your post I'd say your fingers are still slick from the potatoe chip grease your probably pimple faced, over weight ass has been slothing through during your break from WoW or you still have some lube lingering around from where you just judged an "article" on a porn site.
Get a life.
I'm wondering just how much money the spammer has taken in. No mention of that.
Can't even be bothered to address me by name?I suppose posting news about Asus' plans for an android netbook or indeed their new USB 3.0 mobo isn't tech? Oh yeah, JUST the thing you'd find on TMZ.Go ruin someone else's friday, Troll. I'm in too much of a good mood to let you get to me today.
+1 point to Jane McEntegart
I for one don't care much for online networking sites and how they conduct business, sensationalism to get webpage hits, or spammers. Anyone with me?
Since it highlighted "webpage" as a link, lets go ahead and add annoying word link adds or whatever they're called to that as well. If you don't know what I'm talking about, scroll over the blue word in my above post. Apparently you should visit facebook and let T.J. Maxx make a Maxxinsista out of you. Enter today! No, actually...don't.
What I want to know is how Facebook is going to stop him from accessing their site. Can't he just create a new account under a different name?
Face Book is retarded why in the hell would I want to know every move my friends make. I use the old social network a phone.... and twitter can fly away too.. Moo I will sign up for anything..
You're retarded.
You are the retard. You don't even know what this article is about. This hacker hacked people facebook accounts and used spaming posts on your friend pages. It was very effect that it spread to quite a few people account. Good you don't know anything to common on the issues you retard. Facebook notified I was hacked and I had to say sorry for all the posts he made on my behalf.
Hmmm so Facebook can put a lean on pretty much everything this guy owns, seize bank accounts and insurance. Pretty much this guy just became an instant bum lol I think they can also garnish his wages so even if he gets a job he will still have to pay.
They may never see very much of this money but they can sure make his life miserable.