Tekblog

Cybersquatting as domain squatting

Cybersquatting is profit that is made from the goodwill of a trademark.  The Domain Name Handbook defines cybersquatting as:

“A name given to individuals who attempt to profit from the Internet by reserving and later reselling or licensing domain names back to the companies that invested time and money in developing the goodwill of the trademark.”

The plan behind cybersquatting is almost always to extort payment from the trademark owner.  Once the owner pays the price demanded by the cybersquatter, the domain name is then returned to the owner.

Criminals can also use cybersquatting for malicious purposes, such as sending spoofed email in phishing campaigns for the purpose of stealing your identity, or cybersquatting can be used in the pursuit of corporate revenge.

Typosquatting as URL hijacking – is all about raking in ad revenue!

On the other hand, Typosquatting is far more insidious and dangerous than that of cybersquatting. The intent behind typosquatting technology is in the purchase of huge quantities of popular domain names that are typos of brand domains (that often have significant traffic) in order to hijack site visitors who mistype an original domain name.

As an example: Canadadrugs.com, a popular online pharmacy is currently a victim of typosquatters:

candadrugs.com – Purchased by: Valuable Web Names
14525 SW Millikan Way #13790
Beaverton, OR 97005-2343
canaadrugs.com

canadarugs.com – purchased by Suucess
23852 pacific coast highway unit 720
malibu, ca 90265 US

cnadadrugs.com – Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc.

Typosquatting sites often use mousetrapping (a circle jerk) or redirection methods in order to inundate the user with advertisements or redirect them away from the brand site to promote competitive products.  WiseGEEK further defines mousetrapping as “a technique used to trap an unwilling visitor at an offending website in order to gain maximum benefit from the one-time visit.”

There is GREAT PROFITABILITY in the use of
mis-typed domain names – Just ask Google!

Harvard researchers Ben Edelman and Tyler Moore suggests that Google may be profiting from typosquatters – at the expense of online advertisers.

“The scheme is a simple one for the perpetrators: owners of such typosquatting sites place ads on them in the hopes that people who accidentally navigate there will click on them. Moore and Edelman – who has done several indepth and critical studies of Google’s policies – estimate that Google earns about $500 million a year in such misplaced revenues.”

According to Moore and Edelman, 57% of typo domains include Google pay-per-click ads.

Domain Name Techniques

“Suppose a user omits the period that separates “www” from a site’s domain name, for example, “wwwmcafee.com” instead of “www.mcafee.com.” Typosquatters can register that domain.” –McAfee

FYI: Resources to help you make informed decisions!

• You can check to see if your domain has been attacked by typosquatters by using the IBCI Law Group Typesquatter service




• Education is primary: Visit CSC (Corporate Service Company) to study Corporate Identity Protection web seminar archived recordings:

1. Domains 101
2. Going Global with a Brand
3. Not Your Grandfather’s Trademark Law: Social Media’s Transformation of Trademark Law into Brand Identity and Reputation Management
4. An Analysis of the $220 Million Spent by Brand Owners on UDRP
5. How to Watch your Trademarks, Domains and Brands Online in Today’s World
6. Mastering Your Domain – Best Practices for Managing a Global Domain Name Portfolio

• File a UDRP Complaint

• KaatzLaw: Helping Trademark Owners Protect Their IP Rights on the Internet

• New Domain Typesquatting Search

• Measuring the Perpetrators and Funders of Typosquatting

In Conclusion

Brand name typosquatting is not really cybersquatting! The methodology utilized by cyber-criminals in cybersquatting merely fulfills the demand of collecting a one-time extortion fee in return for a brand name domain.

Whereas, Typosquatting methodology contains the element of continuous financial return in advertising clicks via hijacking domains that can be mis-typed.  Make no mistake about it — Typosquatting is BIG bucks in the realm of cyber-crime.

Until next time — Stay safe online!

Tags: cybercrime, cybersquatting, fraud, typosquatters, url hijacking