An America Online software engineer accused of stealing the online giant's entire subscriber list and selling it to a Las Vegas spammer was arrested June 23, after a company probe that began earlier this year.
Jason Smathers is accused of using another AOL worker's identification codes to access the list of 30 million individuals using an estimated 92 million screen names and sell it to Sean Dunaway. Dunaway, in turn, is said to have used the list to spam for his online gambling listings, as well as selling the list to fellow spammers for an alleged $52,000 – including one spammer who used the information to spam for herbile penile enlargement pills.
AOL said the case began when the company sued an unidentified major spammer, during which they learned Smathers stole the subscriber list including member screen names last year. But AOL also said credit card and password information may not have been involved in the theft.
"[We] have uncovered no information indicating that this theft involved member credit card or password information stored by AOL," the company said in a statement after Smathers's arrest. "[We] rapidly brought this information to the attention of federal law enforcement, and this morning the AOL employee was arrested and charged with criminal activity relating to the theft of these screen names."
Smathers is also believed to have sold Dunaway an updated AOL list, with about 18 million names, for $100,000. Both men were charged with conspiracy.
One early report on the day of the Smathers arrest said another spammer who bought lists from Dunaway and was looking for leniency in the AOL case, helped the Secret Service.
AVN Online will provide further information as it becomes available.
