Facebook won yesterday a case against Adam Guerbuez, and his “company”, Atlantis Blue Capital. Facebook sued under the CAN-SPAM (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) Act, and was awared $873 million US in damages.
Adam Guerbuez stole user credentials on varous phishing websites he setup, and then used those login information to spam Facebook users & friends about various dating, porn, drug and “male-enhacement pills” websites. See also here a story on how he got rich by selling videos of people attacking homeless people. Adam Guerbuez, his company, and 26 other indivuduals identified in the case, were based & operating in Montreal.
The ruling also forbid M. Guerbuez to use again Facebook, although it’s probably the least of his worries.
This is by far the biggest amount awarded to a company for anti-spam. Myspace also received a favourable ruling earlier this year, but the damages were “just” $230 million.
Comments
Alex T. November 25, 2008
Guillaume Theoret November 25, 2008
Heri November 25, 2008
Mox Folder November 25, 2008
Denis Canuel November 25, 2008
It’s an American law against a Canadian citizen. As much as I hate spam, I truly hope they won’t get him otherwise this will be the beginning of something very, very bad.
Heri November 25, 2008
Montreal Tech Watch November 25, 2008
Facebook awarded $873 million in spam case against Montreal spammer http://tinyurl.com/6emll7
25 Most Shocking Crimes in Social Media History | Social Networking Blog - SociableBlog.com February 04, 2009
[...] Facebook vs. Montreal spammer: In November 2008, Facebook won its CAN-SPAM lawsuit against Canadian Adam Guerbuez, a spammer who clogged account holders’ pages with pornographic websites and other unsavory pitches. Guerbuez and the 26 others accused of spamming Facebook users were found guilty, and Facebook was awarded $873 million. [...]