Six sentenced in multi-million dollar spamming e-mail fraud

           

After years of being scammed, spammed, phished, and infected, it’s satisfying to know that our legal system is catching up with, prosecuting, and following through with sentencing today’s techno criminals.   Early last week, six individuals were sentenced in federal court for their roles in a wide-ranging international stock fraud scheme - involving the illegal use of bulk commercial e-mails, or "spamming”.

The conspirators designed and used spam e-mails to manipulate stocks, then profited by trading in those stocks once their share prices increased - after the recipients of the spam e-mails traded in the stocks originally promoted by the spam e-mail.

Many of the spam e-mails promoted thinly traded "pink sheet" stocks for U.S. companies owned and operated by individuals in Hong Kong and China. The spam e-mails contained false and misleading information or omissions and were created and sent using software programs that made it difficult to trace them back to the conspirators. According to the indictment, the conspirators used wire communications, the U.S. mail and common carriers to perpetrate their frauds. The conspirators also engaged in money laundering activities involving millions of dollars generated by their manipulative stock trading.

The guilty parties used various illegal methods in order to maximize the amount of spam that evaded spam-blocking devices and tricked recipients into opening, and acting upon, the advertisements in the spam. Those methods included using falsified "headers" in the e-mail messages, using proxy computers to relay the spam, using falsely registered domain names to send the spam, and also making misrepresentations in the advertising content of some of the underlying e-mail messages.

The charges arose after a three-year investigation, with sentences ranging from 12 months and one day to 51 months in prison, plus, fines ranging from $3,000 - $7,500 and forfeitures ranging from $20,000 to $500,000.

U.S. Department of Justice Website

Also see:  Secure on-line shopping tips for Cyber Monday

(image / Microsoft Office Online)

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