Jun 04 2008
Spammers: Sanford Wallace
Continuation of Who are the Biggest Spammers series:
Next up is Sanford Wallace (also known as “Spamford”) because of the recent case he lost again Myspace, to the sum of $230 million. See Walter Rines for more information on what they have done together.
Wallace, previously owned Cyber Promotions (also called Cyberpromo), a Philadelphia-based junk e-mail firm, which reportedly sent out 30 million spams a day until two ISPs forced him to shut down.
While head of Cyber Promotions, Sanford Wallace was considered cyberspace’s most hated person in the 1990s. Tactics like false return addresses, relaying, and multihoming were among the questionable practices used by Cyberpromo to ensure the penetration of their advertising.
In April 1998, Wallace publicly announced that he was quitting the spam business. Cyberpromo was converted to an opt-in email marketing company and renamed GTMI. The new company was plagued by major financial problems, as well as the spectre of its former self, with large numbers of people unconvinced of Wallace’s change of heart. Wallace pulled out of the new venture quickly. GTMI’s unshaken legacy eventually led to its rapid demise.
In 2001 he was linked to a website, passthison.com, which utilized multiple-window launching to snag Web viewers, an advertising practice rarely seen outside of the online pornography industry.
An additional spyware case landed a $4 million judgement against him in 2006.
Prior to his email spam ventures, Wallace had gained notoriety in other questionable marketing circles, as a heavy utilizer of junk fax marketing, a practice outlawed in the U.S. since 1991.
Might want to pull out while he still has some money left and enjoy a quiet vacation somewhere.
