FaceBook Wins $873 Million Judgement Against Spammer

News

Bryan Chaffin

2:00 PM, Nov. 24th ET, 2008

Articles by Author Bryan Chaffin on Twitter Contact Author Bio

Comments (0)

FaceBook has won a US$873 million judgement against a Canadian spammer who used a phishing techniques and other methods to gain control of FaceBook user accounts that then spammed other members. Max Kelly, FaceBookis Director of Security, made the announcement on the FaceBook blog, saying his company had successfully sued the spammer under the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM).

Adam Guerbuez of Montreal and his company Atlantis Blue Capital are the particular spammers in question, though FaceBook doesnit expect to be able to actually collect much, if any of the judgement.

Mr. Kelly wrote, "Does Facebook expect to quickly collect $873 million and share the proceeds in some way with our users? Alas, no. Itis unlikely that Geurbez and Atlantis Blue Capital could ever honor the judgment rendered against them (though we will certainly collect everything we can). But we are confident that this award represents a powerful deterrent to anyone and everyone who would seek to abuse Facebook and its users."

Whether it will serve as a deterrent for future spammers remains to be seen. For instance, Tim Beyers at Motley Fool reminded us that MySpace earned a judgement of $230 million against a spammer earlier in 2008, but spam can still be found on MySpace.

Post A Comment or Log-in. Need an account? Register here.

Recent Headlines - Updated May 26th

Fri, 5:58 PM: News - Sotheby’s to Auction Steve Jobs Atari Memo (Photo Gallery)
5:42 PM: Free on iTunes - 3 Free iOS Apps for News Hounds
3:00 PM: Rumor - Nest Thermostat Reportedly Coming to Apple Retail Stores
2:40 PM: Particle Debris - The TV Industry’s Dreadful Little Secret
2:33 PM: News - Mobile Devices Account for 20% of Web Traffic in US, Canada
12:49 PM: News - Apple Now Offering “Free App of the Week” for iOS
12:21 PM: News - Tim Cook Declines $75 Million Dividend Payout
11:25 AM: News - Absinthe 2.0 Provides Untethered Jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1
11:09 AM: Quick Look Review - F18 Carrier Landing (iOS) is a Boatload of Fun
10:51 AM: TMO Appearances - Jeff Gamet talks Cool Apps & Accessories on Not Another Mac Podcast
10:12 AM: Hot Forum Topic - Forum Poll: Which is Your Favorite Photo Sharing Service?
9:41 AM: Product News - Facebook Brings Native Photo Sharing to iPhone with New Camera App

The Mac Observer Reader Specials

Macsales.com SuperSpeed SSDs from $58. Transform your Mac with an SSD Solution of up to 960GB! You won't believe it's the same machine! Once you experience an OWC SSD, no going back! - Macsales.com
Mac RAM Upgrades: MacBook Pro 16GB kits $475, 8GB Kits for $119.99! iMac 16GB RAM Kits (4x 4GB) for $229.99! Mac Pro Memory 32GB Kit for $399.99, 64GB Kit for $889.99! Mac Hard Drives 2TB Seagate SATA II for $249.99! Click Here!
If you're using a Mac, then you've gotta check out PokerOnAMac.com. Online casinos and poker rooms are literally giving away cash and the casino sites at Poker on a Mac do the unthinkable, they actually reward! Join today, the download is free!
Looking to find online casinos for mac? We can help you find the best real money casino sites where you can play your favorite casino games including blackjack and slots.

Buy Stuff, Support TMO via Apple or Amazon
Deals from DealBrothers.com
Reader Specials
Read TMO on Kindle
TMO on Twitter and FaceBook:

Apple Stock Quote (AAPL)

Last trade: $---.-- $---.--
Market cap: $---.--
Discuss in our Apple Finance Board

Quotes are delayed. Currency in USD

Hot Topics

What's the buzz? These articles have TMO readers talking.

Samsung: Apple’s Trial Experts Are “Slavish” Fanboys - 19 Comments
Forrester: Maybe Apple’s TV Isn’t a TV - 9 Comments
Analyst: Apple to Offer iPhone 3GS as Pre-Paid Option - 8 Comments
The TV Industry’s Dreadful Little Secret - 7 Comments
Jonathan Ive Calls Apple’s Current Project the “Most Important” - 7 Comments
Estimated Apple TV Sales to Date: 6.3 Million - 7 Comments

TMO Express

Join the TMO Express Daily Newsletter to get the latest Mac headlines in your e-mail every weekday. Find out more!

Top Deals From DealBrothers.com

Recent Features

Get the latest installments of TMO Columns, Podcasts, & Blogs.

© The Mac Observer, Inc. -- All rights reserved. All information presented on this site is copyrighted by The Mac Observer, Inc. except where otherwise noted. No portion of this site may be copied without express written consent. Other sites are invited to link to any aspect of this site provided that all content is presented in its original form and is not placed within another frame. The Mac Observer is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple, Inc.