30 October 2009 | Author: O. Gaywood Media Optimiser

Facebook wins $711m from spammer

Facebook has successfully taken Sanford "Spamford" Wallace to court as the social networking site has been awarded $711m in damages because of his actions.

Wallace used other Facebook users' accounts without their permission in order to leave wall posts and messages. Wallace is by no means a stranger to this sort of activity - his Spamford nickname is well earned from previous activities. From huge e-mail ventures sending unsolicited messages, sending mass volumes of junk faxes and spam blocking evasion tactics, Wallace has been the leader in almost everything bad about the internet or leading technologies. After being fined $4m for installing spyware on computers and $230m for spamming MySpace, Wallace filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

His bankrupt status means that it's unlikely Facebook will see any of the $711m he's due, but he might instead get a jail sentence instead.

Sam O'Rourke said on the Facebook blog "[W]e hope that this will act as a continued deterrent against these criminals. Most notably, the judge referred Wallace to the U.S. Attorney's Office with a request that Wallace be prosecuted for criminal contempt, which means that in addition to the judgment, he now faces possible jail time. This is another important victory in our fight against spam. We will continue to pursue damages against other spammers."