Spammer Fined 10 Million Dollars

I don't think 10 million dollars is nearly enough. I think he should be made to really pay, bring back the stockades!

A college student who led a massive spam e-mail operation has been fined more than 10 million dollars, the Texas attorney general said.

Spam e-mail is not only pervasive in our society but is one of the most aggravating problems computer users face," Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a statement Wednesday.

"Today's crackdown effectively shuts down one of the worst spam operators and sends a warning to others who would engage in spam e-mailing for profit."

The former student, Ryan Pitylak, 24, and partners Mark Trotter, Gary Trappler and Alan Refaeli bombarded consumers with millions of e-mails under at least 250 assumed names, the attorney general said.

The e-mails tricked consumers into revealing personal information that was later sold to other companies despite assurances of privacy.

Pityalak was once listed as the fourth-worst spammer in the world.

The judgment was hailed by cyberspace experts who said it shows that the 2004 federal Can-Spam Act, which outlaws certain types of e-mail solicitation, is working.

And isn't is great, he's repented of his spamming ways:

"This has been a real good learning experience for me," Pitylak said. "It's OK that I no longer have this stuff. It's just stuff. I feel good that I was able to cooperate. The settlement has been a bit harsh. I'm happy to move on with my life."

He said he had started an Internet security company to help protect against spam and was reluctant to describe his life in the spam industry, saying he didn't "want to give others in the spam industry information about how to do it."

When my children tell me that their punishment wasn't so bad I make it harsher until they really suffer. It appears that the punishment isn't enough, he needs to be banned from the Internet for life. No computer company for you, spammer! And we brand him with an "S" for spammer and then we shun him. (Can you tell how much I hate spam, especially the new form I have to deal with, the spam comments -- is there a law against those?)