AOL Breach Shows Vulnerability Of System

In the world of spam, where valid e-mail addresses are as good as gold, a group of spammers apparently struck the mother lode at America Online.

Jason Smathers allegedly stole AOL screen names while working at AOL offices in Dulles, Va., and sold the list to Sean Dunaway, 21, of Las Vegas, prosecutors say. Dunaway used it to send gambling ads, then sold it to spammers, a criminal complaint said.

Smathers, 24, allegedly used data encryption, AOL Instant Messenger and another employee’s account in April and May 2003 to cull a list of AOL customers’ screen names, ZIP codes, phone numbers and credit card types