"You've Got Spam!" 92 Million Times

YET ANOTHER REASON TO SHORT AOL: AOL Engineer Accused of Stealing Subscriber List

An America Online software engineer was arrested and charged today with scheming to steal the Internet provider's subscriber list and send ``massive amounts'' of spam to millions of computer users.

Jason Smathers, a West Virginia man who worked in AOL's Dulles, Virginia, data warehouse, is accused of stealing a list containing 92 million subscriber screen names. Interim U.S. Attorney David Kelley said Smathers, 24, sold the list to another man, Sean Dunaway, who then sold it to two spammers for $52,000. Dunaway was also charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.

The AOL spokestool, Nick Graham, stated that they were reviewing AOL's security procedures. He also assured everyone that although the theft amounts to almost all of AOL's 30 million subscribers, their credit card information was secure because it was stored in a "separate data location."

Yeah, right. You know, this little bit of bad news is probably news to nobody who thinks about AOL for two nanoseconds. But then again, the 'authorities" have never really been serious about the AOL virus that has been infecting cyberspace for over a decade.

You want to put a damper on pedophiles preying on children online? Simple, shut down the AOL chat rooms.

You want to get a handle on spam? Simple, shut down AOL's antiquated "security systems."

Is any of this going to happen. Nope.

We'll just be seeing more offers of the first 50,000 hours of AOL free flooding the mailboxes of the world.

Will it work? Fools login to where fools have logged in before.

Posted by Vanderleun at June 23, 2004 3:03 PM