Sophos anti-virus are reporting on a 37-year-old man from California who is facing federal charges for allegedly sending spam advertising pornographic web sites.
Nicholas Tombros has been charged under the CAN SPAM Act of 2003 for allegedly sending thousands of email messages from his laptop whilst driving in his car through Venice, California. Prosecutors allege that he would log on to unencrypted wireless Internet access points to send the spam.
Graham Cluley, Senior Technology Consultant for Sophos commented,
"Spammers target the unprotected computers of innocent businesses and home users to send their junk email, as it makes it harder for them to be identified. Anyone who has set up wireless Internet access should ensure it is properly secured with passwords and encryption to make sure that passing hackers and spammers are not stealing the bandwidth."
According to the US Attorney's Office, Tombros could face up to three years in prison if convicted.