Microsoft wins $7M in spam case

SEATTLE — Microsoft Corp. has won a $7 million settlement from a man once billed as one of the world's most prolific spammers.

The software maker heralded the deal as a coup in the ongoing fight against unsolicited commercial e-mails, known as spam. Microsoft said the money from Scott Richter and his company, OptInRealBig.com, will be used to boost efforts to combat spam and other computer misuse.

"People engage in spam to make money," Brad Smith, Microsoft's chief counsel, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "We have now proven that we can take one of the most profitable spammers in the world and separate him from his money. And I think that sends a powerful message to other people who might be tempted to engage in illegal spam."

The deal is the second stemming from joint lawsuits Microsoft and New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed in December 2003 after Microsoft set "spam traps" that netted some 8,000 messages containing 40,000 fraudulent statements. The lawsuits sought as much as $20 million in fines against members of a sprawling spam ring.

In the settlement announced Tuesday, Richter and his company agreed to comply with federal and state laws, including CAN-SPAM, the federal Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act. He pledged not to send spam to anyone who has not confirmed a willingness to receive it.

He also agreed to let authorities monitor the business for three years to make sure it does not send any illegal spam.

Attorneys for Richter and OptInRealBig.com, an Internet marketing company based in Westminster, Colo., did not immediately return calls for comment.

In a statement released by Microsoft, Richter said he has changed the way he does business.

"In response to Microsoft's and the New York attorney general's lawsuits, we made significant changes to OptInRealBig.com's e-mailing practices and have paid a heavy price. I am committed to sending e-mail only to those who have requested it and to complying fully with all federal and state anti-spam laws."

Richter was once ranked as the world's third-most prolific spammer. Microsoft said his business sent an estimated 38 million spam messages a year.

Richter and OptInRealBig.com denied allegations they sent misleading e-mails using forged sender names, false subject lines, fake server names and Internet domain names and addresses registered using pseudonyms and aliases.