US spammer faces two years in jail

A US man is facing a two-year jail sentence after being accused of sending millions of spam messages over a number of high-profile company networks.

Daniel Lin of Detroit, along with three other men, has been charged with sending spam in April 2005 over compromised computers belonging to the likes of Ford, Unisys and the US Army Information Centre.

Weight-loss products are just one of many goods plugged by spammers but many computer users faced by the growing tide of spam will probably like to see spammers go on a diet of bread-and-water.

A report from the Detroit News said the emails offered diet aids, herbs and drugs to fight male impotence. US authority records claim the gang made approximately £60,000 for their efforts.

Lin is expected to plead guilty to charges including fraud in connection with electronic mail, as part of a deal with the US District Court to cut his sentence. Before the deal, Lin faced five years in jail for spamming plus 10 years for unrelated charges.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, commented: "Spammers don't balk at exploiting the computers of innocent people and companies to relay their unwanted spam onto other computer users.

"Weight-loss products are just one of many goods plugged by spammers but many computer users faced by the growing tide of spam will probably like to see spammers go on a diet of bread-and-water."