The two registered as MySpace members and began stealing existing accounts with the help of phishing techniques. All of the accounts were later on used to advertised for various products.
MySpace complained to the LA District Court judge Audrey B Collins that part of the spam distributed by the duo also included links to third party websites featuring pornographic material.
"The judgment against the spammers is astronomical, because under the terms of the CAN-SPAM law each spam message entitles MySpace to $100 in damages. That triples when the spam is sent ‘willfully and knowingly’. In the war against spam it is right that large companies suffering should have a heavy stick like this to hit the spammers with," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos.
The judge also ruled that Wallace and Rines are barred from now on from similar activities. The two didn’t appear at the hearing.