"Spam King" Indicted

One of the world's most notorious email spammers, Alan Ralsky, has finally been indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit. Ralsky's spam scheme hinged on hyping Chinese penny stocks to drive up their prices before he sold his shares at a profit.

Spam is world-wide problem that seems to grow by the day. No one really knows how much productivity is lost because employees have to deal with spam in their inboxes. Filtering software can help companies and individuals cut down on spam, but experienced spammers like Ralsky know how to get around the filters.

In order to evade spam-catching software, Ralksy falsified email message headers and used proxy computers to send the spam. He combined this with falsely registered domain names and false advertising representations. From all of this, Ralsky and his cohorts allegedly earned $3 million in the summer of 2005.

The investigation into the Spam King and his associates took three years. Why so long? Between falsified information in the spam emails, compromised computers all over the globe, and associates working in a variety of countries, it would seem that the investigation was complex.

And the lesson for business owners everywhere? Just be conscious of the fact that spam is a growing problem, and the problem is not just limited to a nuisance in your inbox. Criminal enterprises are being carried out with the help of spam, so consumers must be on the lookout for nefarious email schemes.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.