'Buffalo Spammer' Arrested

Internet News.Com ^ | 5-14-03

[mikenola]

Howard Carmack, the notorious 'Buffalo Spammer' accused of sending more than 825 million unsolicited e-mails from illegal EarthLink (Quote, Company Info) accounts, has been arrested and arraigned in New York on four felony and two misdemeanor counts.

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is holding a conference call today in order to discuss the case and any precedents potentially involved with what could rank as the first major criminal prosecution of a spammer.

The arrest is the first state criminal prosecution of a spammer, and the first filed by the Attorney General under New York's recently enacted identity theft statute, according to Spitzer's office.

The arrest of Carmack comes just a week after the Atlanta-based ISP won a $16 million judgment against a spam ring he allegedly operated out of Buffalo, New York.

Carmack was accused of stealing credit cards and identities to fraudulently buy ISP accounts to send shady and unwanted e-mail. He is also accused of banking fraud and other illegal activities.

EarthLink VP of law and public policy Dave Baker applauded the decision by the N.Y. attorney general's office to arrest Carmack. "Howard Carmack's arrest demonstrates that spamming has both civil and criminal consequences. Simply put, spammers who brazenly disregard the law will wind up in jail," Baker said in a statement.

After a year-long investigation, EarthLink filed suit against Carmack, alleging that his crew sent out millions of e-mails that included advertisements for computer virus scripts, get-rich-quick and "work at home" schemes, software for bulk mailing and lists of addresses to be used by other spammers.

He was accused of assuming the identities of his own family members and innocent third-parties to "disguise his own involvement in these illegal activities."

EarthLink has a history of anti-spam success stories, including an injunction in 1997 against Sanford Wallace, then known as "most prolific spammer."

More to follow

[CaptRon]

Also, like so many at FR, the writer assumes that NYC is the whole state. It isn't.

[Trace21230]

"Well I agree this guy was bad and should be prosecuted. He will however loose his right to carry a gun for protection because what he has done will make him a felon. (the fact he is in NY and they don't allow guns is beside the point as that's another issue) Could someone tell me why we need to prohibit gun ownership to felons across the board? Does this spammer pose a special danger by owning a gun?"

Why does everything have to be turned into a gun issue?

The story is NOT about guns, it's about computer crime. Post on one of the million gunnut threads if you need to bemoan the treatment of criminals who can't get uzis.

Trace

[TC Rider]

Does this spammer pose a special danger by owning a gun?

If he owned a gun, he'd be a threat to me. Cause if I ever see him, I'm gonna kick his ass. I hate spam and especially hate spammers.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Buffalo spammer can you come out tonight...

[TC Rider]

Does this spammer pose a special danger by owning a gun?

..and another thing, if ownership of guns is important to spammers and other law breakers, they should consider that before getting into a criminal enterprise.

[Lazamataz]

Why does everything have to be turned into a gun issue?

You know, I was asking that very question the other day, when I was oiling and maintaining my Glock Model 22 with tritium night sights and in-frame laser that takes the place of the guide rod. The laser is produced by LaserAim of Rochester, New York, and incorporates a red-diode laser powered by 4 hearing-aid-style batteries. The Glock Model 22 is a .40 caliber firearm.

The .40 caliber round was developed by Smith and Wesson as the best compromise between the takedown power of the .45 round, and the larger quantity of rounds you can carry in a 9mm.

The magazines I have for this magnificent firearm include several pre-ban high-capacity magazines, including several 15 round and even a few 29 round aftermarket mags.

The Glock seldom needs cleaning and oiling, but after a few hard IPSC matches, I still like to lightly oil it with Hopps #9 oil. I am careful not to let the oil get on anything but metal parts of course.

So, no, I do not know why everything has to be turned into a gun issue.

[Kenton]

I didn't know they made spam out of buffalo. I thought they made it out of pig snouts and stuff like that. Man, I LOVE this place, I learn sumpin' new every day! ;)

[Paul Ross]

I don't know about you, but too much SPAM makes me violent. Violently ill!

[SamAdams76]

There are far more serious charges here than just spamming. He is accused of stealing credit cards and identities to keep his scheme going. If those charges are true, it turns him from a civil annoyance into a common criminal.

[Timesink]

I wonder whatever happened to Cancer and Seagull...

[battlegearboat]

...and dance by the light of the Moon?

[EggsAckley]

I've already got 15 in my trash for just today. And the day is still young (out here).

[jpl]

Unfortunately the message will just be to use offshore servers.

The real long-term solution is to force all the major ISPs to maintain a growing catalog of all the domains and server addresses that engage in spamming, and give all the users the option to automatically reject all such e-mail (not just put the e-mail in a "junk" folder, but the option to drop it on the floor completely). Furthermore, anyone who is caught "spoofing" with a phony originator should be subjected to even harsher penalties than regular run-of-the-mill spammers.

[MrLeRoy]

I wonder whatever happened to Cancer and Seagull...

Still chasing ambulances, I think.

[MrLeRoy]

The real long-term solution is to force

Stop right there. I can't endorse any solution that forces any law-abiding party to do anything. The solution is to make spammers criminally and civilly liable for their theft of recipients' coumputer and networking resources.

[NFOShekky]

"Could someone tell me why we need to prohibit gun ownership to felons across the board?"

Yeah, I can: People that commit felonies either do so willfully or negligently. Willfully committing crimes makes a person unstable or evil and they should not have guns. Negligently committing crimes makes a person too stupid to own a gun. Simple.

Gun owners need to stop this crap! We are going to lose everything if we foolishly argue that criminals and ex-criminals should have guns! Let try and focus on allowing us, law abiding citizens, to keep our right to bear arms without clouding the issue!

[mikenola]

not sure how gun issues got into this thread. but in my opinion there are bigger fish to fry than gun rights.

I can understand the intellectual argument, but this country is in severe peril due to Islamic fundamentalist terrorism; folks in Iowa owning M-16s are no realistic countermeasure.

Flame away, I can handle it.

[NFOShekky]

No flames. Complete agreement.

[steve-b]

You must also state, in detail, why you want to own a pistol.

In the case of Mr. Carmack, that would be "because I've pissed off millions of people who would beat me up if they got the chance".