The Facebook Spam King goes down after being found guilty of sending 27m fraud messages
An internet fraudster has pleaded guilty to sending tens of millions of spam messages through puppet Facebook accounts he had illegally gained access to.
‘Spam King’ Sanford Wallace admitted to the industrial level marketing attack in 2008 and 2009, pleading guilty to fraud and criminal contempt, according to Bloomberg.
Gaining the log-in details of an estimated half a million Facebook accounts, Wallace used the network to send unsolicited messages demanding account details or to drive traffic to external websites – for a fee.
In a further breach of law, Wallace had an additional ban from the social network, dating from 2009, after Facebook launched a successful civil case to bar him from access.
The Spam King faces up to three years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
He will be sentenced on 2 December.