Two men, part of an alleged spamming ring, have settled a case brought by internet giant Earthlink over their activities. Damon DeCrescenzo and David Burstyn, two of the so-called Alabama Spammers, paid an undisclosed amount and also agreed to stop sending unsolicited mails. Spamhaus had ranked DeCrescenzo as one of the world"s most prolific spammers.
Earthlink claimed both were part of a multi-state spamming ring, which had send out more than 250 million illegal messages. They were known as the Alabama Spammers because much of their activity centred around the use of phone lines near Birmingham in the state.
The ISP had claimed the gang used stolen credit cards to create internet accounts, then used them to send spam advertising Viagra and other pills as well as offers to sell spamming software. It also alleged the group had used fake names, addresses and non-existent companies to disguise their true identities.