Application security

Jobs for moms webmaster cops to spam-porn plea

A New Hampshire woman pleaded guilty this week in connection with a mass pornographic spamming operation resulting in more than 600,000 complaints from America Online customers.

Jennifer R. Clason, 33, is the third person to be convicted for sending unsolicited obscene emails, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. She pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and one count of criminal conspiracy.

Clason, who runs a website, https://www.mommyjobs.com, which provides resources for women who want to work from home, conspired with two 39-year-old men on the spamming scheme: Jeffrey A. Kilbride of Venice, Calif. and James R. Schaffer of Paradise Valley, Ariz.

"It's sickening to think that a woman claiming to help other (moms) generate an income while looking after their children also was involved in spam campaigns that promoted adult pornographic websites," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "The U.S. computer crime authorities are cracking down harder than ever on those responsible for sending spam, and they should be congratulated for bringing another culprit to justice."

Clason, who faces up to 15 years in prison, has agreed to turn over any money made through the operation, the Justice Department said. She is scheduled to be sentenced June 5.

According to the nine-count indictment returned against Clason, Kilbride and Schaffer on Aug. 25, 2005, the defendants conspired to engage in a spamming business for their own personal gain. AOL received more than 600,00 complaints from users between Jan. 30, 2004 and June 9, 2004.

The indictment added that the emails advertised graphic websites in order to earn commissions for the defendants by sending traffic to the sites. Graphic images were part of all the emails, according to the indictment.

"The spam emails were sent in a manner that would impair the ability of recipients, internet service providers processing the emails on behalf of recipients and law enforcement agencies to identify, locate or respond to senders," the Justice Department said.

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