Walter Rines shut down by FTC

Back in May, I briefly mentioned how the Federal Trade Commission was taking action against Walter Rines, spammer, purveyor of spyware, and part-time partner of Sanford Wallace.

Yesterday, c|net reported that the FTC has ordered Rines to permanently shutdown his spyware operation and pay $50,000 to cover his illegal profits. He may also face a $1.75 million judgement.

The article also mentions one John Robert Martinson who faces a $1.86 million judgement over his Spy Deleter software which he paid spyware vendors to advertise for him with threats of more spyware if they didn't buy his product. This is similar to the scheme that Sanford Wallace was fined $4 million for operating.