A US teenager has become the first person to be arrested on suspicion of sending unsolicited instant messages, or ‘spim’. Anthony Greco, 18, was lured from New York to Los Angeles under the pretence of a business meeting. He was arrested upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport last Wednesday.

Greco allegedly sent 1.5 million messages advertising pornography and mortgages. According to reports, the recipients of the messages were all members of the MySpace.com online networking service.

Greco had allegedly threatened to share his methods for spimming members of the group if MySpace didn’t sign an exclusive marketing deal that would have legitimised the messages he was sending via the service. Greco believed he was flying to Los Angeles to cement that agreement with MySpace President Tom Anderson.

Source: Will Sturgeon, CNET News