  Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 11222 Registered: 12-2003 |
heh Looks like they finally caught up with Alan Ralsky, the Spam King. Such a personable fellow, too, he hosted me more than a few times while I worked in his video screening room at his home in West Bloomfield. One less income stream down to Detroit, thanks to federal intervention, dabbling in an area they arguably should not be in. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 4390 Registered: 10-2003 |
Having a hard time finding sympathy on this one. The cost of spam on corporations was estimated at $21.58 BILLION in 2004. The means of obtaining the email addresses are often fraudulent to begin with. Find something productive to do instead of just trying to fleece people of their money while providing no actual service or product. | ||
Irish_mafia Member Username: Irish_mafia Post Number: 1169 Registered: 10-2003 |
skinning that personable fellow alive might be a good start | ||
Sturge Member Username: Sturge Post Number: 189 Registered: 05-2007 |
Pfft! I have zero sympathy for this scumbag. I'm extremely glad the feds nabbed him. I can't believe you support this guy. He rips off people on the internet. Ohh wait...it must be a conspiracy. (Message edited by sturge on January 04, 2008) | ||
Lowell Board Administrator Username: Lowell Post Number: 4418 Registered: 10-2003 |
Great news. How big was Ralsky? This from www.Spamhaus.org, the top anti-spam site on the web. quote:If you make Spamhaus' top ten you are a first class a*******. It is rare that an American makes this rogue's gallery. This guy might be better off being indicted for child molestation for all the the anger he generated. And as for the Freeps editing... "This included using false headers in email messages, using proxy computers to repay span [ahem = relay spam}, using falsely registered domain names to send spam and misrepresenting the advertising content of email messages, prosecutors said." | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 11223 Registered: 12-2003 |
Ha! Whoever said I supported him? Do any of you actually read?! Heck, he helped support ME! I was always honest with him how I felt about his business. | ||
Wally Member Username: Wally Post Number: 348 Registered: 12-2003 |
^ Your first post seemed more positive than negative regarding the guy. Actually, it didn't sound negative at all, especially of how personable of a fellow he is and how the gov't should leave him alone comments. I hope they send that loser down sh!t creek with a broken McDonald's coffee stirrer as a paddle, and a turd sandwich for lunch. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 11225 Registered: 12-2003 |
I think it IS one of the things that the Feds should not be involved in...find some other way to eliminate the internet bother, why make a federal law? This is another instance where THEY allowed the gap to be exploited, then made some over-reaching law to 'contain' it and save the defenseless, yet inflamed masses. He IS a personable fellow. ALWAYS impeccable manners, treating workers in his home as if it were THEIRS instead. You meet few folks that successful in ANY industry with such grace. I like the guy but hate what he does for income. I DID lose some potential income that would be spent within the city of Detroit. Sure, I'd rather he learn another way to apply those skills, but he found a way to profit off of them...unfortunately at our collective discomfort...but shit on the expense, that is such a bullshit argument. How much do corporations spend on discarding junk mail sent to their locations? That is the same scenario. Nah, that said, I basically respect this fellow's ability to become tops in his field, even if it IS one that exists on the grayer side of the economy. He has chutzpah, that is for sure. I'm as sick of cleaning out my inboxes as the next fellow. Since I found a way to eliminate my junk mail at home, I'd find a way with junk e-mail, too, without Federal help. | ||
Zephyrprocess Member Username: Zephyrprocess Post Number: 572 Registered: 08-2006 |
quote:This is not "junk mail." This was in a pump-and-dump scheme, which can also be run from a phone bank (though much more expensively). Fraud on an international scale should attract federal law enforcement attention. In addition, his use of botnets misappropriates computing resources from non-consenting individuals. Good riddance. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 497 Registered: 10-2006 |
quote: A tinfoil hat for your computer, no doubt. | ||
Sturge Member Username: Sturge Post Number: 191 Registered: 05-2007 |
Wow, scamming people is an okay industry for Gannon it seems. -used unsolicited e-mail to pump up the price of largely worthless stock in Chinese companies -used illegal methods to maximize the amount of spam that could be sent while evading spam-blocking devices and tricked recipients into opening and acting on advertisements -charged the group with violating federal spamming laws, money laundering and conspiracy -tried to send spam using illegal botnets But what a GREAT guy. (Message edited by sturge on January 04, 2008) | ||
Sturge Member Username: Sturge Post Number: 192 Registered: 05-2007 |
"You meet few folks that successful in ANY industry with such grace." Yeah I guess you don't meet to many nice guys in the criminal industry. | ||
Viziondetroit Member Username: Viziondetroit Post Number: 1340 Registered: 11-2003 |
I worked in his video screening room at his home in West Bloomfield. ^^^ what kind of videos? lol | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 499 Registered: 10-2006 |
quote: I don't know about that. I heard tell that Ted Bundy was quite charming at times. | ||
Izzadore Member Username: Izzadore Post Number: 89 Registered: 11-2006 |
Ralsky's a huge figure. Not quite Sanford Wallace or Walt Rines... But they have to know each other. I heard he's into some form of 'above the board' Internet Marketing. They are a tight-knitt group... They payed folks at AGIS to write IEMMC 'safe' email pushes in Dearborn in the mid 90's... He probably wouldn't have been caught if he were trying to influence the stock market so blatantly. Greed! Greed! Greed! I'm not so sure about spam. I definitely don't like it but if it's outlawed you might as well outlaw the act of people walking up to you on the street and trying to inform you about a 'good deal' too. | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 500 Registered: 10-2006 |
quote: Even if about 348 guys a day approach you? And 10 of those guys tape one of their advertisements to your back unbeknownst to you? | ||
Sstashmoo Member Username: Sstashmoo Post Number: 841 Registered: 02-2007 |
Too bad the fine is only 250k and 20 years in the pen. These folks cost the average PC user countless money and time in a constant battle against their onslaught. Do the Feds realize how much money these people cost you and I? Not to mention degrading of bandwidth speed by spam softwares continually scanning and blocking data miners, and browser hacks. Throw the book at them, all of them. Total scumbags. They've made the spyware business an multi billion dollar concern. And you and I are paying for it. There has been a few occasions since 94, that I've had to completely reformat systems to get rid of malicious softwares. Spent days trying all other methods. I had one, as soon as I deleted, it renamed itself and reinstalled. Impossible to get rid of. Got that in the form of a trusted email attachment, we all got nailed. Yes fry these guys. | ||
Screamingfit Member Username: Screamingfit Post Number: 32 Registered: 03-2006 |
Sorry if this offends anyone but he got rich off of people's stupidity. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 4397 Registered: 10-2003 |
No, you are right as far as people actually buying the products or clicking the links. But other non-stupid people are still constantly annoyed and inconvenienced by the crap. | ||
Sstashmoo Member Username: Sstashmoo Post Number: 842 Registered: 02-2007 |
"Sorry if this offends anyone but he got rich off of people's stupidity." He got rich off of people's ignorance of just how low some scumbags will crawl to take advantage of someone. So now the creep is caught and facing prison time, who is the stupid one? | ||
Izzadore Member Username: Izzadore Post Number: 90 Registered: 11-2006 |
quote: I did't say I agree with spam but, if, in fact this happened to you tomorrow would you call the police??? Move??? If No, then you can see why the big guys have really not been effected by this. I think AOL sued Wallace for a few million but he probably settled and paid and kept rollin'. | ||
Zephyrprocess Member Username: Zephyrprocess Post Number: 574 Registered: 08-2006 |
quote:As do all con artists. | ||
Zephyrprocess Member Username: Zephyrprocess Post Number: 575 Registered: 08-2006 |
quote: If someone pasted a billboard-like ad on the side of my house I'd call the police. | ||
Sturge Member Username: Sturge Post Number: 193 Registered: 05-2007 |
"Sorry if this offends anyone but he got rich off of people's stupidity." And this makes it ok? | ||
Dds Member Username: Dds Post Number: 501 Registered: 10-2006 |
quote: Exactly. If someone hacks into my email account and uses it to send out spam, I'd alert the proper authorities. In this case it's the feds. Why? Number one, my provider could shut my account down for misuse (even though I wasn't spamming). And secondly, my money, which I pay to my provider for my account, is being used without permission to run their operation. I equate it to my neighbor running an extension cord from my garage to his garage to power his beer fridge. | ||
Izzadore Member Username: Izzadore Post Number: 91 Registered: 11-2006 |
quote: That's amatuer, and sloppy. And even worse illegal (Canned Spam act I think.) And, if that ever happened on a subscriber line you'd be getting a call from Comcast or AT&T or whoever. That's only if you were to find out how to open port 25 (Good luck with that my friend.) You can't even do that sort of thing on GoDaddy BUT not cause it's illegal. And yes, GoDaddy shuts people down every day for even one complaint. Ralsky didn't go down for that. These guys get right next to that line without crossing it. These people really only run from the Anti-Spammers. The folks who are hard-core against spam. The main players have bodyguards to keep these folks away. They break into houses looking for servers so they can destroy them. It's wild stuff man. |
