First spim arrest

zakur · 31st March 2005, 12:58 PM

Story

Quote:

A U.S teenager has become the first person to be arrested on suspicion of sending unsolicited instant messages--or spim.

Anthony Greco, 18, was lured from New York to Los Angeles under the pretence of a business meeting. He was arrested upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport last Wednesday.

Greco allegedly sent 1.5 million messages advertising pornography and mortgages. According to reports, the recipients of the messages were all members of the MySpace.com online networking service.

[...]

Experts have warned in recent years that spim will be the next area of development for those looking to further exploit access to users' desktops and bombard them with unwanted messages, but its growth has been slow.

The immediacy of instant messaging and its growing popularity with businesses and home users means spam via the medium could theoretically become even more obtrusive than email spam.

I must admit, this is the first time I've seen the word 'spim.' But then I am not an IM user, either.

TragicMonkey · 31st March 2005, 01:06 PM

Wow. Extortion and spamming. What a kid.

It's cute that they tricked him into coughing up cross-country airfare before arresting the little jerk.

31st March 2005, 12:58 PM	#1
zakur Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 3,265	First spim arrest Story Quote: A U.S teenager has become the first person to be arrested on suspicion of sending unsolicited instant messages--or spim. Anthony Greco, 18, was lured from New York to Los Angeles under the pretence of a business meeting. He was arrested upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport last Wednesday. Greco allegedly sent 1.5 million messages advertising pornography and mortgages. According to reports, the recipients of the messages were all members of the MySpace.com online networking service. [...] Experts have warned in recent years that spim will be the next area of development for those looking to further exploit access to users' desktops and bombard them with unwanted messages, but its growth has been slow. The immediacy of instant messaging and its growing popularity with businesses and home users means spam via the medium could theoretically become even more obtrusive than email spam. I must admit, this is the first time I've seen the word 'spim.' But then I am not an IM user, either.
	__________________ "I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." -Thomas Carlyle "That's the problem these days: nobody thinks of the tumors." -steinhenge

31st March 2005, 01:06 PM	#2
TragicMonkey Poisoned Waffles Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Monkey Posts: 30,114	Wow. Extortion and spamming. What a kid. It's cute that they tricked him into coughing up cross-country airfare before arresting the little jerk.
	__________________ One cannot expect wisdom to flow from a pumpkin.