Jayson Harris, 23, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison in the first case brought against Internet fraud by software giant Microsoft. Harris was accused and found guilty of fraudulent practices against MSN customers by using a practice that we have come to call Phishing. Harris admitted that he had defrauded anywhere between 50 and 250 customers though his activities.
Phishing is a form of Internet fraud that aims to steal valuable information such as credit cards, social security numbers, user IDs and passwords, using fake emails and websites that are set up to look as if they belong to or originate from legitimate companies such as PayPal or Amazon. It has become a big problem in the last couple of years or so. Microsoft has filed 125 civil suits against Phishers.
Microsoft attorney Aaron Kornblum said: "Today marks a new milestone in Microsoft's global phishing enforcement initiative. It's about taking the fight to the phishers."