Yahoo has claimed victory in a $610 million lawsuit against a group of individuals it accused of operating a massive spam and fraud campaign.

A U.S. district court in New York issued a ruling in favor of the company, ordering the defendants to pay $583 million in damages from violations of the CAN-SPAM Act, as well as $27 million in damages for trademark infringement.

The company alleges the defendants spammed users with emails purporting to be from Yahoo offices. The emails claimed that users had won a "Yahoo lottery" prize and asked for personal and financial information.

Such lottery scams are a common tactic cyber criminals use to harvest personal data on users and gain access to bank accounts.

"Yahoo takes the protection if its users and brand very seriously," said Yahoo global brand protection legal director Christian Dowell.

"Our ultimate goal is to ensure that users continue to trust Yahoo as the leading U.S. email provider."

Passed in 2003, the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act allows companies to seek penalties of up to $16,000 for each piece of junk mail reported.

The law has been used by service providers to claim a number of landmark decisions against spammers, including a 2009 ruling that saw Facebook claim a record $837m payout for a password-harvesting scheme.

A federal judge has awarded Yahoo $610 million in a case regarding e-mail spam that told recipients they had won a fake Yahoo lottery. Despite the court's ruling, though, the digital media company will probably never collect.

Yahoo, which filed the suit in 2008, was able to identify the fraudsters behind the scam e-mails through Internet records. Court documents identified the scam artists as a Nigerian corporation, a Taiwanese corporation, and a group of individuals from Thailand and Nigeria, according to a report by CNNMoney. None of the defendants have responded to Yahoo's complaint, and as is the case with scams of this nature, would prove difficult to track down.

Close to 11.7 million fake notices of lottery winnings were sent through Yahoo's e-mail system between December 2006 and May 2009, according to Yahoo. The case was brought under the U.S. Can-Spam Act.

In a statement, Yahoo said:

“

This type of lottery scam is a hoax designed to trick unsuspecting email users into revealing valuable personal data such as passwords, credit card information, and social security numbers. The perpetrators typically use the stolen information to access recipients' bank accounts and credit cards, to apply for unauthorized credit cards or loans, or to fraudulently create documents bearing the victims' personal identification and then use or sell it in a wide variety of credit and identity scams. Some of the 'winners' are also deceived into sending the defendants money for processing and mailing charges.

”

For advice on how to best protect yourself from online fraud, check out our Guide to online security, which outlines some of the most common threats. Also see Best ways to stay safe online.

Yahoo! Awarded $610 Million Against Spammers [Business Wire]
Yahoo wins $610 million from lottery scammers [CNNMoney]