Guess Who Facebook's Just Sued For Spam?

from the the-usual-suspects dept

Wed, Mar 4th 2009 1:13am — Carlo Longino

Last year, when MySpace won an uncollectable judgment against well-known spammer Stanford "Spamford" Wallace, part of the punishment was that he wasn't allowed to set up any more MySpace profiles. Mike noted at the time that it didn't say anything about Facebook, speculating that's where Spamford might pop up next. So guess who Facebook's just sued for sending spam Facebook messages? Yep, ol' Spamford and a couple of his pals. Facebook alleges they used phishing attacks to break into users' accounts, then sent messages to their contacts. It sounds pretty similar to the previous MySpace case, and it's hard to imagine it won't end up the same way: Wallace disappearing, Facebook getting a default judgment with an uncollectable judgment, and Spamford moving on to the next big social site.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: sanford wallace, spamford wallace
Companies: facebook

22 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Kenneth D. Welch, 4 Mar 2009 @ 3:09am

Someone Needs to Kick that Guy's Ass
...badly
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Stranger at Random, 4 Mar 2009 @ 3:35am

1
Yaa, What he said... Spam SUCKS...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2009 @ 4:09am

Phishing is just one of the internet's main natural selection processes.

He's performing a service. The weak must perish so the strong survive.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2009 @ 5:24am
  
  Re:
  It is the Internet. There IS no natural selection. It's 100% artificial and if you get "phished" you only get inconvenienced for a few months.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Some IT Guy, 4 Mar 2009 @ 5:33am
  
  Re:
  Hahahaha Love it!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2009 @ 5:34am

Is it just me? shouldn't "Facebook's" just be "Facebook"? It doesn't seem to be possessive in the uses above.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Some IT Guy, 4 Mar 2009 @ 5:40am
  
  Re:
  I think you are correct. But the English language is a complicated one....
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- TC Harp, 4 Mar 2009 @ 7:19am
  
  Re:
  I believe it is a contraction of "Facebook has", although, like you, I don't think it is correct usage with a proper noun.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Michael mallows, 4 Mar 2009 @ 8:06am
  
  Re: Grammar
  Unless, of course, the author meant 'Facebook HAS just sued...' in which case both versions would be correct.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2009 @ 5:43am

I keep arguing with my wife about proper grammer. She keeps saying, 'her and I...' to which I reply... 'she and I'. We're all fools.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2009 @ 10:11am
  
  Re:
  it's "me and her" were naked last night
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Tina, 4 Mar 2009 @ 9:43pm
  
  Re: Proper grammer and any other MINOR stuff
  Honey - life's WAY TOO SHORT to worry about the little stuff. If proper Grammer is all you have to worry about you need to thank the Lord and your lucky stars above.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Communicator, 11 Apr 2009 @ 8:44pm
    
    Re: Re: Proper grammer and any other MINOR stuff
    ugh I HATE the argument that grammar (please notice the lack of an "e") is minor. Grammar is the framework for all communication. The tighter your grammar, the easier your message gets across. If it was so minor, why do so many people get distracted by it's misuse? Because the message is distorted and the meaning unclear. Yes grammar can be confusing and complicated, but anything worth doing is worth the effort.
    
    Tina, your life may be too short to worry about grammar, but my life is too short to re-read and decipher Kayne-esque messages!
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2009 @ 6:01am

Facebook's = Facebook has

Guess Who Facebook Has Just Sued For Spam?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2009 @ 6:22am
  
  Re:
  Say it this way. It means the same and sounds better.
  
  Guess Who Facebook Just Sued For Spam?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2009 @ 6:48am
    
    Re: Re:
    Waahhh... My writing style can beat up your writing style.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Norm, 4 Mar 2009 @ 6:47am

When is the Gov't
When is the government going to take the crimes of ID theft and phishing and cost of viruses and spyware seriously?

These asshats cost companies a lot of money and should be pursued.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2009 @ 6:50am
  
  Re: When is the Gov't
  ONOOZZZ some one stole my facebook identity, some one HALP!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Michael Mallows, 4 Mar 2009 @ 8:09am
    
    Re: Re: When is the Gov't
    How do we know that it's you, though?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2009 @ 7:50am

@AC - What is grammer?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Rodney, 4 Mar 2009 @ 8:19am

SPAM vs. Junk Mail
I hate SPAM as much as the next guy or gal but WHY do people seem to get much more upset over SPAM than they do over snail mail junk mail? I hate that JUNK MAIL in my mail box WAY more than SPAM in my inbox.

I say we get upset over junk mail because it's real stuff that's filling up our landfills and a huge waste of trees not to mention a bunch of other bad stuff.

STOP JUNK MAIL!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wolfy, 4 Mar 2009 @ 10:24am

I was taught it was "She and I". Then I hear they're teaching "Me and her". I'm confused!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]