Spim spammer arrested
p2pnet.net News:- Rumours that the US Secret Service is about to investigate the Big Music cartel’s RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) may have substance.
A New York man was arrested last week and charged with sending out unsolicited instant messages, “marking the first known case of criminal action being taken against someone accused of sending “spim,” or instant-messaging spam,” says the IDG News Service.
Some 134 million of US “online adults” use instant messaging and almost a third of them have received “spim,” or unsolicited commercial instant messages, says the Pew Internet & American Life Project, and, “That translates into nearly 17 million adults who have gotten the instant-message version of spam.
“Results from our latest nationwide telephone poll taken between January 13 and February 9 show that younger internet users – also the most likely people to use instant messaging – are the most likely internet users to get spim. Fully 39% of those under 30 who use instant messaging have gotten spim. By comparison, 27% of the instant message users between 30-49 have gotten spim.”
Younger internet users, eh? Interesting.
And real numbers on IM use in the US may be much higher, “given that data on the most avid IM users -those under the age of 18 – was not part of the survey,” Pew director Lee Rainie is quoted as saying.
That’s probably why the Big Music cartel has instructed its various alphabet organizations such as the IFPI, BPI, CRIA and RIAA to use spim in its never-ending sue ‘em all ‘marketing’ campaign.
The cartel has already fired off millions of threatening Instant Messages to anyone and everyone they think may share digital music files through p2p networks, or who’s thinking of doing so.
BPI ( British Phonograph Industry) chairman Peter Jamieson said, last year, that BPI unsolicited spim messages would be, “warning uploaders that they face court action if they don’t disable file-sharing software on their computers”.
Now, “Anthony Greco of Cheektowaga, New York, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on February 16, and charged with violating the federal CAN-SPAM Act, after the 18-year-old allegedly sent over 1.5 million instant messages advertising mortgage refinancing services and adult pornography to users of MySpace.com’s IM service, according to a statement released by U.S. Attorney Debra W. Yang,” says IDG.
The US Secret Service and Los Angeles Police Department’s Electronic Crimes Task Force investigated the case.
No doubt Ms Yang has already contacted RIAA boss Mitch Bainwol with a court appearance date, and no doubt her opposite number in the UK has done the same with respect to the BPI’s Jamieson.
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See:-
instant-messaging spam – Man charged with sending more than 1.5 million unsolicited messages over instant messaging, IDG News Service, February 22, 2005
most likely – The advent of spim, Pew Internet & American Life Project, February 21, 2005
warning uploaders – Spim is on the rise, p2pnet, March 31, 2004
February 23rd, 2005 at 4:36 pm
Is anyone else picturing vikings sitting in a restaurant chanting, “Spim, spim, spim, spim! Spim, spim, spim, spim! Lovely spim! Wonderful spim!”?
February 23rd, 2005 at 8:27 pm
“No doubt Ms Yang has already contacted RIAA boss Mitch Bainwol with a court appearance date, and no doubt her opposite number in the UK has done the same with respect to the BPIâs Jamieson”
Lets not assume they have, I don’t reside in any of the UK or US.
Can enough people file a complaint?