Two jailed over e-mail scam which threatened
internet providers
Two men in Los Angeles have been jailed for two years after they sent
50 million e-mails as part of a scam which almost brought the largest
internet providers to a standstill.
Steve Shklovskiy and Yan Shtok, both 23, have also been ordered to
pay £69,000 compensation for their role in the September 1999 scheme.
The men pleaded guilty to fraud charges in December 1999. Two others
were sentenced to probation in July.
Authorities said Shklovskiy and Shtok devised a way to use personal
computers equipped with commercially available software to "harvest"
electronic mail addresses.
They then sent a mass e-mailing, asking recipients for a £24
"processing fee" in exchange for a chance to work at home stuffing
envelopes.
More than 12,000 people were duped. Internet providers, including
AOL, AT&T and Mindspring, were besieged by customer complaints and
their systems were threatened by the overload.
The plea agreements require the men to reveal to the internet providers
how they accomplished their scheme.
internet providers
Two men in Los Angeles have been jailed for two years after they sent
50 million e-mails as part of a scam which almost brought the largest
internet providers to a standstill.
Steve Shklovskiy and Yan Shtok, both 23, have also been ordered to
pay £69,000 compensation for their role in the September 1999 scheme.
The men pleaded guilty to fraud charges in December 1999. Two others
were sentenced to probation in July.
Authorities said Shklovskiy and Shtok devised a way to use personal
computers equipped with commercially available software to "harvest"
electronic mail addresses.
They then sent a mass e-mailing, asking recipients for a £24
"processing fee" in exchange for a chance to work at home stuffing
envelopes.
More than 12,000 people were duped. Internet providers, including
AOL, AT&T and Mindspring, were besieged by customer complaints and
their systems were threatened by the overload.
The plea agreements require the men to reveal to the internet providers
how they accomplished their scheme.
