Prosecutors, Ex-AOL Engineer Strike Plea

[Ian David]

Prosecutors, Ex-AOL Engineer Strike Plea
By TED BRIDIS, AP Technology Writer
Mon Dec 20,10:25 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors and a former America Online software engineer have negotiated a tentative plea agreement over charges he stole more than 92 million e-mail addresses and sold them to Internet spammers, according to two people familiar with the case.
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Authorities said Smathers, who was fired by AOL in June, used another employee's access code to steal the valuable list of AOL's customers in 2003 from its headquarters in Dulles, Va., and sold it to Internet spammers for more than $100,000.
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The stolen list of 92 million e-mail addresses — a potential gold mine for spammers peddling loans, pornography, jewelry and prescription drugs — included multiple addresses used by each of AOL's estimated 30 million customers. The list is believed to be still circulating among spammers, although America Online has taken aggressive steps to prevent unwanted e-mails from reaching subscribers.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=528&e=6&u=/ap/20041221/ap_on_hi_te/aol_spamming
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