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MySpace is seeking damages and a permanent injunction to block a spammer from its website, the social networking site said. Scott Richter violated the CAN-SPAM Act, Cal.'s anti- spam statute and other state and federal laws, it said. The suit, filed Fri. in U.S. Dist. Court, Sacramento, seeks cash damages and a permanent injunction barring Richter and his affiliated companies from the MySpace site. The complaint names Richter companies OptInRealBig.com, CPA Empire.com and Media Breakaway, and associates Marat Nigmatzyanov and Yevgeniy Leschinskiy.
Richter and associates arranged for millions of spam "bulletins" to be sent from MySpace users' accounts without their knowledge July-Dec. 2006, MySpace said. Richter either phished MySpace accounts himself or acquired a list of phished accounts to launch spam campaigns promoting sites hawking ringtones, shirts and other products and services, it said. The attack used stolen data and legitimate-looking messages to make the bulletins seem to come from friends, the suit said.
Richter violated the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act, CAN- SPAM Act, Electronic Communication Privacy Act and Cal.'s anti-spam statute, MySpace said. The complaint also claims breach of contract, unfair competition, trespass to chattels and conversion. MySpace suffered an aggregate, one-year loss of at least $5,000, the company said. Richter didn't comment immediately.
Microsoft and former N.Y. Attorney Gen. Eliot Spitzer sued Richter for spamming in 2003. He settled with Microsoft for $7 million.
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