Acourt here found two men guilty of fleecing Internet users of 12 million euros (approximately $15.84 million U.S.) through infecting computers with an auto-dialer virus.
Between July 2002 and September 2003, a piece of software containing a Trojan horse secretly planted the auto-dialter in about 100,000 computers, according to court documents. Without the knowledge or consent of the computers’ owners, the auto-dialer automatically contacted an expensive dial-up service offering access to pornography. The men received a portion of the proceeds from each call.
The men, ages 31 and 35, were convicted of two crimes: organized fraud and computer fraud. They have been sentenced to 48-month and 39-month terms in prison, respectively.
The German phone system has rewired its lines in order to avoid future scams of this nature.
Despite the court’s reference to the scheme as “nefarious,” prosecutors were unable to win a court order requiring the men to repay 7 million euros to victims.
Earlier this year, suspended sentences were handed down to others connected to the scam.
