‘KING OF SPAM’ ORDERED TO PAY $711 MILLION TO SOCIAL NETWORKING GIANT

Spammers who use the social networking website Facebook to send junk messages to unsuspecting users now have 711 million reasons to find a new hobby.

That’s how much money in damages a judge in California awarded Facebook in a lawsuit against spammer Sanford Wallace.

“We won another battle in the fight against spam,” Facebook said in announcing the ruling on its web site on Friday.

Facebook alleged that Wallace, dubbed the “Spam King,” hacked into members’ accounts without their permission and sent out “phony” wall posts and messages to their friends.

Wallace has also been banned from accessing Facebook and could face possible criminal charges.

And, not surprisingly, Wallace is a repeat offender.

In 2008 he was ordered to pay MySpace $230 million for spamming and the the Federal Trade Commission fined him $4 million in 2006 for the same thing.

Facebook acknowledged that the likelihood of getting any money from the bankrupt Wallace is slim. But the company vowed to continue going after spammers.