Ex-AOL man jailed for e-mail scam

A former AOL employee has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for selling members' details to spammers.
American Jason Smathers, 25, said he turned into a "cyberspace outlaw" after selling the database of 92 million screen names and e-mail addresses.

As a result of his actions in 2003, about seven billion unsolicited spam e-mails flooded inboxes of AOL members.

Prosecutors said Mr Smathers had violated recent Can-Spam laws, which aim to clamp down on unsolicited mail.

He was also accused of breaking US interstate transportation of stolen property laws.

Mr Smathers admitted accepting $28,000 (£15,515) from an individual for the list of AOL member details. The details are still thought to be circulating amongst spammer rings. --