MySpace sues Spam King Richter

MySpace.com has sued self-proclaimed spam king Scott Richter for allegedly using compromised user accounts to send millions unsolicited ads touting ringtones, polo shirts among other things.

The MySpace lawsuit has accused Richter of using phishing techniques, including spoofing login pages, to harvest account details so that spam emails could be sent to MySpace members that appeared to come from of other members.

This is not the first time Richter has been slapped with a lawsuit. Previous cases in which Richter has settled includes a US$7 million settlement with Microsoft in 2005.

MySpace, which has more than 100 million registered members and is one of the most visited sites in the US, has had more than its share of troubles in the past year. In addition to facing lawsuits from families of under age girls who were sexually assaulted by predators they made contact with on the site, MySpace has been hit with a copyright infringement suit from Vivendi's Universal Music Group and a worm that lead members to compromise their security on fake websites.

MySpace, is determined to show that it is serious in fighting spammers and protecting the identity of its members. However, it is faced with the spectre of possible legal action from members who have had their security compromised through using the site.

Universal Music is suing myspace.com (Nov 18,2006)