Howard Carmack, of Buffalo NY, the "Buffalo Spammer" who has sent over 850 million spam emails, has been arrested under new NY identity theft statute enacted in November:
- "We believe Carmack is one of the largest (spammers) and believe there are a significant number of them," [New York Attorney General Eliot] Spitzer said in a conference call. "Spammers who forge documentation and steal identities of others to create their e-mail traffic will be prosecuted."
Spam, or unwanted e-mail hawking everything from herbal sexual stimulants to mortgages, has become a growing issue as it now comprises as much as 75 percent of online messages.
About two-thirds of the spam that jams up in-boxes contains deceptive information such as false return addresses or pitches for miracle cures and work-at-home schemes, according to a recent analysis by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Carmack was charged with: stealing the identity of two residents to open Internet access accounts with EarthLink Inc. ; falsifying the business records of EarthLink; forging the headers of e-mail sent from the EarthLink accounts; and possessing a software program designed to create the forged e-mails, the Attorney General's office said in a statement.
Spitzer said his office worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and EarthLink, the nation's No. 3 Internet service provider. Last week EarthLink won a $16 million settlement and injunctive relief against Carmack in U.S. district court in Atlanta after a year-long investigation.
"He cost EarthLink more than $1 million," Spitzer charged. "And he opened in excess of 343 e-mail accounts using stolen identities."
....The arrest comes as Louisiana Republican Rep. Billy Tauzin plans to introduce an anti-spam bill this week that is expected to move quickly through Congress. [Reuters]
This "Buffalo Spammer" literally is a menace to society and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law - do they have the penis penalty in New York?
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