The article below was published in today's TechRepublic newsletter. ______________________________________ AOL worker arrested in alleged spam scheme U.S. investigators said on Wednesday they had arrested an America Online employee for allegedly stealing the Internet provider's customer list and selling it to a purveyor of spam e-mail. Jason Smathers of Harpers Ferry, W. Va., has been charged with stealing a list of 92 million AOL customer screen names and selling them to Internet marketer Sean Dunaway of Las Vegas, said David Kelley, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Dunaway, who also has been arrested, used the list to promote his online gambling operation and sold the list to other spammers for $52,000, Kelley said. Both men face up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 under a national antispam law. Working as an engineer in AOL's Dulles, Va., headquarters, Smathers, 24, was able to access screen names, zip codes and credit card types, though not credit card numbers, of the company's 30 million customers, Kelley said. A search of Smathers' computer showed he had discussed ways to spam AOL members in April 2003, the complaint said. AOL said it discovered the activity during a spam investigation. Smathers has been fired, the company said. "We deeply regret what has taken place and are thoroughly reviewing and strengthening our internal procedures as a result of this investigation and arrest," the company said in a statement. Motor cooled down, heat went down, that's when I heard that reinstall sound

"stealing a list of 92 million AOL customer screen names" "was able to access screen names, zip codes and credit card types, though not credit card numbers, of the company's 30 million customers" AOL has 30 million customers but they have 92 million screen names. So that means the avg. AOL customer has 3 screen names per household. Did this guy manage to steal every single screen name? KTTD Though I walk through the valley of Microsoft, I shall fear no OS for skills are with me

There's a similiar message posted over in the Windows XP Forum . . . So THIS is how you got e-mail spams i_XpUser

And yet another reason to NOT use AOL.

Your post: "Did this guy manage to steal every single screen name? " Yes from what I heard he got entire screen name database as of about 1 or 1-1/2 years ago.

"...1 or 1-1/2 years ago?" Then most of them would frustrated and using something else. AOL - Always Off Line!!