A spammer gets caught in Dublin

yellum

http://www.linux.ie/pipermail/ilug/2004-April/013049.html

Via BoingBoing and via Slashdot.

Give that guy a bloody medal.

Yoda

Give the perp 50 years.

ssh

*bows*

It was an exciting day, I'll say that much :-)

Sleepy

*aplauds*

Cake Fiend

Nice one. We need more admins like this around.

The linked discussion does raise some very important issues for [net café] admins though. The whole privacy thing is a bit of a hairy area for those of us who strive to keep our networks safe from abuse - how much investigation/logging/monitoring is too much? Where's the line between rightfully protecting your network and unethically invading your customers' privacy? It's very hard to find a balance and it's an issue I have much interest in, having collaborated with gardaí on several occasions.

The thread also brings up the issue of cooperation between gardaí and public net access admins. In my personal experience, it's rare that extra information will be volunteered by the police - in any case I have been involved in, I had to ask and pry to get information (sometimes for information that could help my input into the case, sometimes for my own personal curiosity). Information was rarely denied, to be fair, but I still think the police could be more outwardly helpful to the people who are trying to help them. Net café and to a certain extent college admins are in a very good position to catch a lot of dodgy bastards who seek the relative anonymity of a public net access point.

ssh

I think the first step in simplyfing this argument is dividing monitoring into two classes.. classification and analysis.

Classification is where you see what kinds of traffic are using your bandwidth... web, mail, IM, bf1942 etc.

Analysis is when you actually start to look at the contents and nature of that traffic.

Assuming you agree, what's fair game and what isn't?

In the case of that spammer, I had classified a large amount of traffic as being email, coupled with a knowledge that that indvidual had abused our services before. It was only then that I felt I had an ethical right to analyse the contents of his traffic.

I think that's right... I've never had to do it in the past, nor would I have any interest in doing so. What the law says I am not entirely sure, but I'd be fairly confident that it's on my side.

theciscokid

just tell him to stop spamming and kick him out

raphaelS

Well done!

Raphael

oscarBravo

Originally posted by theciscokid
just tell him to stop spamming and kick him out

So he can go somewhere else and carry on scamming? Feck that, arrest his fraudulent ass.

spongebob

ply'd SSh

sceptre

Posted it over on the security board yesterday (Damien's picked a more appropriate place).

Nice one ssh - I see you got your El Reg writeup too.

Cake Fiend

Originally posted by theciscokid
just tell him to stop spamming and kick him out

What an irresponsible attitude. I have snared paedophiles in the past and handed them over to the police. Should I have simply told them 'stop looking at kiddy stuff' and kicked them out, free to go straight to another net café to do the same thing?

yellum

LawMeme chimes in:


http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1424

mike65

Not that it ever ends.....

Dear Friend,


My name is Mrs.Josephine Sese-seko, I am the wife of the late president of Democratic Republic Of Zaire,
President Mobutu Sese-Seko, ( now The Republic Of Congo, under the leadership of (Joseph Kabila the son of
Mr. Laurent Kabila ). I presume you are aware there is a financial dispute between my family ( THE MOBUTU )
and the present civilian Government. This is based on what they believe as bad and corrupt governance on my
late husband's part. May his soul rest in perfect peace. As you might have heard how a lot of my husband's
bank account in Switzerland and North America has been frozen.

Following the above named reasons, I am soliciting for your humble and confidential assistance to take
custody of Twenty Two Million United States Dollars ( US$22,000,000.00 ), also to front for me in the areas
of business you desire profitable. These funds have secretly been deposited into a confidential Security
firm where it can easily be withdrawn or paid to a recommended beneficiary. The funds will be released to
you by the Security firm based on my recommendations on that note, you will be presented as my partner who
will be fronting for me and my family in any subsequent ventures.


Myself and my sons have decided to give 20% to you if you are able to help us claim this consignment. We
have also decided to give you any money spent on phone calls or traveling expenses in the course of this
transaction at the end of the transaction. Please, I need your entire support and co-operation for the
success of this business ventures, your utmost confidentiality and secrecy is highly required, due to my
family's present predicament. I sincerely will appreciate your acknowledgment as soon as possible. I and my
sons are presently in the refugee camp here in Nigeria, UNDER THE UNITED NATIONS REFUGEE CAMP IN NIGERIA.
Please indicate your interest by sending your telephone and fax numbers or send me a mail at anytime. I
sincerely will appreciate your acknowledgement as soon as possible. Pls reply with this email address:
josephine2seseseko@yahoo.com


Thanks and God bless you.
Josephine Mobutu Sese-Seko.

Warning: While decoding this file Opera encountered errors.

Indeed :rolleyes:

Mike.

BKtje

Nice one

uberwolf

I got an interesting one yesterday which provided me with links to the bbc website citing new sources there as if to validate the content, some disposed leader, siphoned funds etc, story was real, clearly the sender wasn't. Just that it was a slightly developed tactic. Amsteradm was the source according to the IP.

Moriarty

gg shots ssh.. heh

Oh, and here's the link to the reg piece

Forgive my ignorance, but what law did he break?

oscarBravo

Follow yellum's LawMeme link above.

Alright, got it.

But surely its a civil matter?
Why did the gaurds get involved?

Winters

Originally posted by ronoc
But surely its a civil matter?
Why did the gaurds get involved?

Not really, by scamming someone out of money its a legal matter. Thats why the Gardaí got involved sure, and fair ****s to them too.

Wonder what those USB Pen drives taste like...

they taste like burning..:dunno:

SouperComputer

ha ha, thats so funny that he swallowed the USB key. classic.

fair play to ye!

still cant believe people fall for that scam though!

[edit] i would have like to see the guy swallow a floppy! [/edit]

jank

Originally posted by SouperComputer


[edit] i would have like to see the guy swallow a floppy! [/edit]

how about a zip disk or a dvd
hell why not make him pay and tell him eat a whole computer!!

the punishment should fit the crime and i doubt he'd do it again after ****ting metal for weeks lol:p

same goes for all spammers

ArphaRima

I agree with all the actions taken etc.

I would just like to know if there is specific legislation under Irish law that covers his acts, and therefore what would he be charged with in relation to this computer crime?

ssh

Here...

http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1424

The author contacted me to let me know about it. It's a good read and well researched.

The gardai haven't been in touch since it happened, so I'm guessing he'll be charged with assault. The Sunday Business Post are probably going to publish an edited version of my original mail, so maybe a little bit of extra coverage in the national media will give the gardai a bit of a further incentive to charge him for everything he was doing.

spongebob

I trust you lot are gonna sue him for your time as well, ssh . Get an order that he not reduce his assets in the country while it is ongoing

M

ssh

I at no point even thought of that...

Must ask a solictor about that. Good thinking Muck.

LoBo

interesting!
Just found this while searching for something else in this forum -

Any further news on what happened to the spammer?

I think the attempted USB card-swallowing makes the story

OLDYELLAR

deadly!
aww i wanna work where you work sounds fair exciting , brilliant stuff

pclancy

Fair play man! Hate those email cowboys. Imagine how many people would probably have fallen for his scam and filled his pockets with cash. Lock him up then put him on the next boat home. "Police brutality" dont give me that crap, they should have shoved his laptop down his throat