4 Arrested in Massive E-Mail Spam Sting

A University of Missouri graduate student and his brother, an MU alum, as well as two others, were arrested Wednesday in connection with a massive E-mail spamming operation, the Missourian reports. According to police, the suspects allegedly developed an E-mail extracting program and collected more than 8 million student addresses from 2,000 universities and colleges.

Using spam marketing campaigns, the suspects sold more than $4.1 million worth of products, authorities say.

"Nearly every college and university in the United States was impacted by this scheme," said Matt Whitworth, acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri. "Illegal hacking and E-mail spamming wreaks havoc on computer networks. These schools spent significant funds to repair the damage and to implement costly preventive measures to defend themselves against future intrusions."