spyware |

The Spam King is responsible for some of the most drastic anti-spam movements in the last 2 decades.

According to Facebook, the Spam King attacked more accounts than the population of Texas.

Sanford Wallace or, as he prefers to call himself, the Spam King, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and related activity in connection with electronic mail. He also pleaded guilty to one count of criminal contempt.

The Spam King was sentenced by the United States Court to 36 months in prison and court-ordered to pay $310,629 in restitution. After his criminal conviction is executed, Wallace will be on five years probation, time in which he will have to undergo mental health treatment.

For life, the spam king will be denied access to or possession of a computer or smart device without individual legal approval.

In the months of 2008 and 2009, Sanford Wallace illegally obtained access to Facebook’s computer network on several occasions.

The Spam King used Facebook to message a large number of its users a link to an external website. The site was engineered to obtain the log-in information of its visitors, without their knowledge or consent.

Using the illegally acquired log-in information, Sanford would share the link through those accounts, the end-result being a “Spam Plague” which ended up affecting over 27 million user accounts.

At the end of 2009, Facebook reported a total of 350 million worldwide accounts. Over more than 7 percent of Facebook’s total user base had been afflicted by the Spam King.

In 1991, the United States outlawed marketing via fax due to “Spamford”. This, however, was not a good reason for Wallace to stop his junk fax marketing spamming until 1994 when e-mail simply became a more efficient way to achieve the same goal.

In 2004, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Sanford Wallace for infecting computers with spyware and then giving users a way to fix it for the cost of $30. The FTC sued Wallace a second time for the same reason in 2006.

In 2007, MySpace brought Sanford Wallace to trial for creating 11,000 fake user accounts which were then used for spamming and phishing legitimate users.

In 2009, after being brought to court by Facebook as well, Sanford Wallace had accumulated fines that summed up to $1 billion. He filed for bankruptcy, and he had received charges of criminal contempt, which could result in his incarceration.

In 2011. Wallace began undergoing what would be a two-year investigation by the FBI. Allegations included repeated infiltration attempts into several high-ranking Facebook user profiles.

Image Courtesy of Pixabay.

It should be a rule of thumb not to buy cheap Chinese smartphones, no matter how compelling they sound in the description.

The reason to avoid such bargain is not to support the national economy and local tech behemoths, but to support your own safety and quality of life.

A recent German report coming from the security firm G Data Software says the tech and safety experts from the company found malicious spyware deeply hidden in at least two such cheap Chinese smartphones.

If you are interested in purchasing a handset online, beware of the models Star N9500 and possibly the Orient N9500. They are manufactured in China, sold on Amazon and eBay, among other online retailers, and said to be infected with spying software.

According to the security’s firm statements, their team spent a week to trace the phones back to their original manufacturer, but they couldn’t.

There is nothing embedded inside the phone, no reference and no documentation in order to identify and trace the cheap Chinese smartphones producer that is spying on you. As odd as it may seem, this is not an isolated incident. In fact, the German company took action in this direction after several customers complained about their phones coming from different Chinese manufacturers.

What is this spyware and what can it do to you? Let’s listen to tech experts who took a deep look into the matters:

According to a German security company G Data, the spyware, called Uupay.D, is capable of intercepting personal data transmitted over the phone, such as banking data, phone calls, email messages and text messages. It then transmits that data to a server in China. G Data said Uupay.D can also remotely control the phone’s camera and microphone and covertly install more malware onto the device. And if you were worried about accidentally deleting the spyware, don’t worry, Uupay.D is embedded in the smartphone’s firmware at the factory and can’t be uninstalled.

This is a serious threat, no matter how you look at it. Buying cheap Chinese smartphones (which are not properly branded and trusted) was never a good idea, because of their low quality standards, but now that you are aware you are a beacon for all frauds out there trying to steal something from you, buying such device is incomparably more dangerous. It is also a bad idea to send personal information and financial details over the phone, no matter what high – end handset you use, so be aware of the perils you expose yourself to in the future!

The occurrence of such incidents is higher than you think and experts assume this type of malevolent phones will see a rise in numbers. They might look decent and even have some interesting features or high performance levels, but if you can’t find out anything about the company , or the phone looks too good to be true, you’re probably paying money to be hacked.

Spam King Sentenced to 2.5 Years, Banned From Ever Owning A PC

Cheap Chinese Smartphones Infected With Spyware!