back to article Feds hamstring world's largest spam gang

US regulators have struck a body blow at two men accused of masterminding the world's largest spam enterprise by obtaining a court order that shuts down some half-dozen companies they operated and freezing assets earned in the operation. Lance Atkinson, a New Zealand citizen living in Australia, and Jody Smith, a businessman …

COMMENTS

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  1. Jonathan McColl

    I'm in the wrong business

    They made *millions* from financing the chaps who told people about penis-lengthening? They raked in so much they had to launder the dosh? I never appreciated just how many people out there are sufficiently envious of what some of us have naturally (modest shuffle) that they'd really truly respond to the messages saying '"Yes, please, Mr Postman, rush me one of your kits!"

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Just frozen bank accounts?

    These people attempted to sell drugs to children in schools in Texas. Why aren't they strapped to a table waiting for the lethal injection to kick in? The laws in Texas are clear about this being a crime and its clear about the punishment yet the tough talking District Attorneys in Texas haven't been able to touch them or anyone else yet.

  3. Steve Roper
    Thumb Up

    Good to see

    That international cooperation is beginning to work in rounding up these bastards. Now all we need to do is to make the punishment fit the crime:

    Ch-klick... HOCK! OOOOORRRRRRAAAAAAYYYYY!!!

  4. Moss Icely Spaceport
    Joke

    "Richard Cox"

    Surely you jest !

  5. Jean-Luc
    Flame

    Extreme punishment zealots

    @"Just frozen bank accounts?"

    "Why aren't they strapped to a table waiting for the lethal injection to kick in?"

    Bloodthirsty, aren't we? You musta really gotten burned on those enlargement schemes...

    And, like, maybe there is still something like due process and innocent until proven guilty? You know, those things in y'all's Constitution.

    To the cops: great job!

  6. Dave Bell

    One should be careful...

    But if international money laundering is going on, it's something that the cops maybe can understand, prove, and prosecute.

    And because of that, at the end of it all we can be fairly confident that they've nailed the right guys.

    There are, for instance, British computer-specific laws which could be used to hammer the operators of any bot-net, but it would be a struggle to prove anything.

  7. foo_bar_baz
    Linux

    @wrong business

    Each herbal remedy spam is really a cry for help, isn't it? Girls' self-image issues are pretty well acknowledged, but it's pretty obvious moms and pops should be telling their sons

    a) they're big enough

    b) they can't get bigger with pills even if they wanted

    c) getting bigger wouldn't make one a better lover anyway

    d) what does make one better

    If you think it's a tough issue to talk about, think about how much less spam you'll have in 20 years.

    Tux because he doesn't have self-image issues. He knows he's a studmuffin.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    I actually noticed...

    ... that my junk mail has dropped from >2000 to <200!

  9. The Voice of Reason

    Small pins

    May I be the first to volunteer to give them a penis enlargement -using a mallet & anvil.

    Alternatively, can I stick some ever-so-small pins in these guys? Just one pin for every spam message that I have had to clean out of my Inbox over the last few years. That should do 'em.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Aahh I know where this will lead....

    Millions of $'s, luandered. They won't get them on Spaming, they will clobber them with the old Tax evasion laws, that has previously bought many a crook down.

    Go get em taxman.....

  11. Graham Marsden
    Boffin

    Hmm...

    "responcible [sic]"

    "they bought [sic] me up"

    Explains a lot...!

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Make them pay

    Come on... Let's see theft charges and them having to repay the costs of all our electricity that's used transmitting their garbage, all the spam filtering machines, software, bigger mail server disc drives and additional bandwidth people have had to buy to deal with it and all the increased charges we have to pay ISPs because of all the stuff they've had to buy.

    Thanks for the name and shame. Hopefully names and faces can be put to more of the Spamhaus top 10...

  13. Rick

    Meh.

    OK, I'm not exactly a fan of spam but let's be honest, anyone retarded enough to actually send money to a spammer deserves everything they get.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    punishment fit the crime?

    Good to see

    By Steve Roper Posted Wednesday 15th October 2008 00:31 GMT

    That international cooperation is beginning to work in rounding up these bastards. Now all we need to do is to make the punishment fit the crime:

    Ch-klick... HOCK! OOOOORRRRRRAAAAAAYYYYY

    how about making them proof read every single spam they send?

    i mean 100k identical spams to be corrected and read by the perpetrator individualy...

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Horns

    Suitable punishment

    is to spend the next ten years manually sorting real email from spams (in realistic proportions, ie about 1 legit per every 50-80 spams). Electric shock for every mistake made.

    Must sort 1500 emails to qualify for next meal.

    Evil. But it's the only way they'll get it.

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