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Story URL: http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/thespamreport/0,39025001,39120158,00.htm

Spamlord switches career to underwear seller
Junk-email clothing line really is pants...

By Jo Best

Published: Wednesday 21 April 2004

Where do old spammers go when the junk-mail gig is up? Straight into the fashion business, obviously.

After getting New York state attorney general Eliot Spitzer spewing bile at the very mention of his name, thanks to his junk mail antics, spam overlord Scott Richter has branched out from his junk mail habit and decided that what the world needs now is more than shed loads of Viagra - he is selling a new spammers' clothing range.

The apparel will be innovatively sold under the SpamKing label and via online stores.

Spam-loving shoppers will be able to get their hands on Richter's pants - yes, the spammer will be selling SpamKing undies as well as hats and tops - with slogans such as "Just Opt Out" emblazoned on them, according to Newsday.

For a man who is thought to have once raked in the tidy sum of $2m a month from his spam business, he's going to have to flog a fair few T-shirts to match his digital profits.

While Richter's been loudly proclaiming that he's legit and is convinced that the enterprise will be a success - and if anyone should know about marketing, it's him - the average email user might be a tad frosty about handing over their cash. He's rated as the world's second-most prolific spammer, according to anti-spam foundation Spamhaus.

The penis-patch peddler has also drawn the spleen of the folks over at Redmond. Late last year, after a six-month investigation, Microsoft and Spitzer filed lawsuits against the businessman for allegedly breaking marketing laws.

As well as posing as a fashionista, Richter runs an - ahem - 'email marketing' company, OptinRealBig. On its website, the company claims there are 100 million unique email addresses in the US and that "OptinRealBig has direct access to nearly half".

How ever will the spamlord market his new range of clothing?

Richter has claimed that all those on his mailing lists opted-in to email marketing and that his business is not in the habit of spamming. A more cynical observer might be tempted to ask why Richter didn't favour a clothing label called 'Legitimate, Opt-in Email Marketing King', in that case...

Richter did not immediately return calls seeking comment.