Miley Cyrus hacker in MySpace spam ringtone scam
TrainReq invites surfers to vote on own punishment
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A teenager already suspected of breaking into the Gmail account of actress Miley Cyrus and swiping candid pictures also hacked into MySpace profiles of other celebrities.
Suspected hacker Josh Holly, 19, also allegedly broke into the online accounts of music stars including Rihanna, Chris Brown, Linkin Park and Fall Out Boy, Wired reports.
According to an affidavit by FBI investigators obtained by NewsChannel 5, Holly (aka Trainreq) used access to the compromised accounts to spam fans with messages punting ringtones. The scam grossed an estimated $110,000 in advertising affiliate fees between November 2007 and July 2008. Holly claims he split the income with an Israeli accomplice.
The duo obtained access to MySpace's administrative panel using social engineering trickery on a MySpace worker before resetting account passwords for around 20 MySpace users including famous musicians.
Holly was arrested by the FBI in October following a raid on his home in Tennessee but is yet to be charged. Investigators are apparently awaiting the results of a computer forensics investigation. More details about the accusations against Holly can be found in a newly-released affidavit here (pdf).
While the investigation storm swirls about him, Holly is getting on with the business of running his Trainreq website, seemingly enjoying his new found notoriety. Demonstrating considerable chutzpah, Holly is running an online poll inviting visitors to the site to vote on what punishment they'd like him to receive.
Options include "Free TrainReq", "Lock him up and throw away the key" and "Give him probation, I am pissed he hacked miley. But don't be too harsh". ®
COMMENTS
eh?
@Dave: I find it hard to blame anybody who finds watching television an inefficient way to learn the news. And how does "totally not up to speed on any mass-media celebrity culture at all" turn into "too smart to enjoy pretty much any form of entertainment"? Maybe the man has found the last coffee house in the US where up-and-coming folkies sing through a haze of cigarette smoke. Better him than me if so, but I hope that Rihanna Montana isn't the be-all and end-all of entertainment.
@Sara: Is nu-metal what you make pi tins out of?
@generally: Perhaps the boy could be employed in explaining to the celebrities that they can afford to pay for an email account, that they don't really have to use gmail.
Rianna? RnB?
Oh yeah, Rianna. She's the one that gets rich by simply mispronouncing "umbrella" as "umberella" isn't she? Idiot girl!
...and RnB? Isn't that Rhythm and Blues? damned sure that the generic garbage labelled as RnB is neither Rhythmic nor Bluesy....
...now...back in MY day..... *snore*.....
@Mike Flugennock
We get it. You're much smarter than other Americans, and it's very important that we understand that you're also too smart to enjoy pretty much any form of entertainment - or, for that matter, too damned cool to enjoy pretty much anything whatsoever.
You are very, very smart, and very, very cool. And smart. Not dumb, like the other Americans who watch TV. But smart.
And not like the other Americans. Very different. Totally different, in fact. It's amazing you even qualify as an American you're so smart! Back in YOUR day, pop music wasn't pop music, and was real music, not pop music, and it was good, not bad. You listen to GOOD bands, and not on any of that newfangled shiny plastic crap, either. Not like these kids with their compact discs and electronic doohikawhats.
No, sirree. And that whiny whippersnapper at the record store thinks this new noisy trash is music. You can't even understand the lyrics!
Yes. You're not like the other Americans. Not at all. Not dumb - smart.
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