'Spamford' Spins Disks at Black Hat
LAS VEGAS, Aug. 2 -- One of the most notorious and successful spammers of all time -- Sanford Wallace (a.k.a. "Spamford") -- is set to DJ at the OPM club here at Caesar's Palace Hotel where Black Hat 2006 is underway.
In May, a federal judge ordered Wallace and his company, Smartbot.net, to pay back more than $4 million that the Federal Trade Commission charged that Wallace had scammed from Internet users by using security flaws to install his bogus anti-spyware programs on thousands of computers.
The FTC and Wallace are still working with the court to figure out how Wallace might begin to pay his debt, but for now Wallace claims the entire legal battle ruined him. In a February e-mail to the FTC, Sanford wrote:
"Financially, I am basically ruined, mostly due to my stupidity. I think you can agree with me after investigating my bank accounts, that I have not played any games with oversees [sic] deposits or any of that type of stuff....I am basically a moron with the way I have handled myself. And I have also suffered from a serious gambling problem....I am trying to do things right. It has been over a year and a half and I have held an honest job and am just trying to survive in the legitimate world. I have lost everything and am essentially at rock bottom at this point.
Wallace now goes by the name "DJmasterweb," and his new persona is evident at this Myspace profile (note that the page loads music with profanity, so if you visit it at work you might want to turn down the volume).
Incidentally, Eileen Harrington, the FTC's director of consumer protection, will be speaking at Black Hat today on an Anti-Spyware Coalition panel discussion about corporate spyware threats.
By Brian Krebs |
August 2, 2006; 6:23 PM ET
From the Bunker
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Posted by: TeMerc | August 2, 2006 9:46 PM
Ah, Spamford back? How many times has he admitted that it was all a huge mistake, and vowed never to return to the life of a spammer, anyone keeping count?
"I'm not crying victim, but I am stating that a lot of spammers are genuine scumbags." -Sanford Wallace
I think this quote dates from just after the implosion of Cyberpromotions, when he was complaining that many of his "clients" tried to rip him off, and were basically dishonest.
Instant Karma's not as quick as it used to be.
Posted by: Ancipital | August 3, 2006 11:23 AM
FWIW, the spelling "disk" is usually reserved for magnetic media. For optical media, which I'm guessing are what Wallace is spinning, the term is "disc".
Posted by: antibozo | August 3, 2006 2:14 PM
I spoke to Wallace a couple of times, when he wouldn't stop spamming my work address. Even way back then we had established that spamming is theft of service, trespass to chattel, and illegal conversion of assets. He's the kind of thieving sociopath who believes he's not stealing, he's just so superior to the rest of us that he *deserves* whatever he can take. He'll scam and steal until he dies or is placed in an isolation cell. That "I'm stupid" stuff is just manipulation. Sociopaths don't feel remorse. Rule 1: Spammers lie. Rule 2: when a spammer is telling the truth, see Rule 1.
Posted by: Old Geezer | August 4, 2006 8:56 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
The guys deserves everything he got and then some. But don't doubt for a minute this guy is done. His 'spinning' days began when he tried to defend what he was doing when caught red handed.
Once things simmer down, he'll get the thirst for the big money again, his type always do.
And no doubt he'll resort to his old tactics.