Russian spammer murdered

Alexey Tolstokozhev (btw, in Russian his name means ‘Thick Skin’), a Russian spammer, was found murdered in his luxury house near Moscow. He was shot several times with one bullet stuck in his head. According to the authorities, this last head shot is a clear mark of Russian hit men (known as “killers” in Russia). Tolstokozhev was a famous spammer who sent millions of e-mail promoting viagra, cialis, penis enlargement pills and other medications. Links in these e-mails usually led to some pharmacy shop, which paid Tolstokozhev a share of its revenue. This is a well known affiliate scheme employed by spammers worldwide. Tolstokozhev is estimated to be responsible for up to 30% percent of all viagra and penis enlargement related spam. In order to send millions and millions of unsolicited letters, Tolstokozhev employed a network of infected computers (so-called “botnet”), which he rented from hackers. How profitable is spam? Well, the authorities say that Tolstokozhev has likely made more than $2 million in 2007 alone. (in comparison: average russian monthly salary is $400) This is a second murder of a spammer in Russia. Another russian spammer, Vardan Kushnir, was assassinated in 2005.