Back in June I wrote about a ruling against Sanford Wallace, who is one of the most well known spammers. As of today, the case as been settled and “California awarded Facebook $711 million in damages against Sanford Wallace”. Additionally, Wallace now faces possible jail time. Despite the massive settlement, it’s unlikely Wallace will ever show up in California again, or pay the settlement.
Instead, Sanford Wallace is probably moving from country to country, trying to avoid the authorities and living off money stashed in offshore accounts. Despite Sanford’s decision to hop around the world avoiding authorities, Facebook is hailing this judgment as a big win:
The ruling is the result of tireless effort by our Security and Legal teams, which work to find, expose, and prosecute the sources of spam attacks. As Sam O’Rourke, Associate General Counsel for Facebook, has stated, “We’ll go to the ends of the Earth to protect our users from spam and make sure those who send it are held accountable.” These efforts complement the sophisticated technical systems we continue to develop to limit the impact of these attacks, and where possible, block them altogether.
Facebook is currently dedicated to building advanced spam fighting systems and pursuing those individuals who attempt to scam users on the site. One of the early issues with MySpace was an overload of spam which caused people to go running from the site. Facebook in contrast has aggressively pursued spammers, and while many have slipped through the cracks, most issues are resolved quickly.
This is just one more settlement against Sanford Wallace who has already filed for bankruptcy, however it’s a big win for Facebook who has been working on this case for months now.
Sanford Wallace image via Red Herring.
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awesome news, spammers just make it harder for everyone, especially the people who are trying to do the right thing and using ethical business practices!
Comment by dj adelaide — October 29, 2009 @ 9:40 pm
W00T! Take that spammers.. Your next..
Comment by Yatti420 — October 30, 2009 @ 1:24 am
i am as well a fan of facebook alot and alot
Comment by ALI SAJJAD BAYAT — October 30, 2009 @ 2:05 am
Blimey. At least proof-read the title.
Comment by bob — October 30, 2009 @ 2:17 am
This is a shame that spammers do this it is not cool when they spam it hold ups loading your sites and other important things you have to do when you are on these sites.
Comment by Kim Claudio — October 30, 2009 @ 9:25 am
Well-done and glad you took case. Only way to solve problems is head-on.
Comment by Frances Heneghan — October 31, 2009 @ 9:05 am
Seriously, this dude has the smallest head to body ratio of anyone I have ever seen. If he goes back to Haiti and has another one of those head shrinking curses put on him again he is going to look like Beetlejuice.
Comment by Brad — November 1, 2009 @ 3:05 pm
Honestly,…spammers are such pathetic losers. If you think of how the thieves of Wallstreet need to be locked up for ripping off billions from honest average Americans,…so should spammers. They have stolen millions of hours from typical internet users,…for what, I have no idea. If they are making money,…well, join the ranks and figure out a new way. If they were standing in front of me they would get 5 good reasons for my frustration.
Comment by John Donkers — November 23, 2009 @ 6:49 pm
what i see is some people are so greedy for money that they are willing to give up anything to get that money. i might be poor, but i'm not readyly going to believe the bullcrap in my e-mail box. you have to remember some e-mails have viruses. If i don't know them i don't open them.
Comment by donald walker — December 8, 2011 @ 11:48 am