Instant message spam artist under arrest; problem still growing, say experts

• A New York man was arrested and charged with sending out unsolicited instant messages last week, marking the first known case of criminal action being taken against someone accused of sending "spim," or instant-messaging spam.
• The news comes on the heels of a new survey, from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which reports that approximately 17 million adults have received spim.
• In the U.S. Attorney's case, authorities allege that, starting in October 2004, Greco fraudulently created thousands of accounts at MySpace, an online community in which members can write Web logs, share pictures, and send instant messages.
• Greco sent spim messages from the accounts, according to the U.S. Attorney's statement.
• When MySpace.com did not respond, he threatened to share his technique for sending spim messages to MySpace.com users with the spamming community and "open a Pandora's box of spam" on MySpace's network, the statement said.
• The U.S. Secret Service and Los Angeles Police Department's Electronic Crimes Task Force investigated the case.
• Prosecutors are charging Greco with threatening to cause damage to MySpace.com's computers and with intent to extort, in addition to the CAN-SPAM Act violations.
• In October, America Online filed suit against 20 "John Does" in a case that alleged violations of the CAN-SPAM Act for sending bulk IM solicitations over AOL's Instant Messenger network.
• The Pew telephone survey of 2,200 U.S. adults, conducted in January and early February, suggests that IM use is widespread in the United States.
• Thirty-nine percent of respondents less than 30 reported receiving spim, compared with around 27 percent of those over 30.
• In fact, real numbers on IM use in the United States may be much higher, given that data on the most avid IM users--those under the age of 18--was not part of the survey, said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project.