Music & Entertainment News
Holy Cyberspace Batman, You’ve Been Ripped Off!
Holy Cyberspace Batman, You’ve
Been Ripped Off!
Shelli Carlisle
Val Kilmer’s been ripped off, and he’s not alone. There is a long history of people having their domain names stolen, right from under their nose, due to ineffective security by the companies who have registered the domain name. And, no one is safe. Small businesses, large corporations, even individuals are targets for internet fraud; all for the love of money.
For example, in December 2005, The Sheboygan Press reported that a local man was charged with selling his employer’s domain name, Sofa, for $200,000. He used the money to finance international trips with his girlfriend.
Domain theft and squatting is really a complex issue and is growing at an alarming rate. This high tech crime can span international boundaries and go undetected until months after it has happened. By the time the victim realizes it, the real thief is nowhere to be found and the new owner has a domain name that couldtied up in litigation for years. No one is immune.
One of the more noted thefts was reported by API and featured The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. Last month ICANN was hit when an Internet registration company it oversees got fooled into transferring the domain names to someone else. The nonprofit agency in charge of the Internet’s addresses recently lost track of its own. ICANN said that new, unspecified security measures should prevent such attacks in the future. The organization also said it was reviewing other security procedures.
Kilmer’s web coordinator, Jacque Talboy, shared in an email Kilmer’sdomain, ValKilmer.com, was held by 1 & 1, a major domain name and web hosting company. The domain was registered to be automatically renewed with a credit card kept on file at the company. The credit card was charged on the renewal date. However, on the same date, 1 & 1 claims someone called and cancelled the domain. 1 & 1’s parent company, Sedo, which is located in Germany took it over. Talboy also said the domain is currently up for auction at the Sedo location (starting bids on the domain are 3500EU).
“Once somebody purchases the domain from them, they will have to return it to us because of Trademark issues. We have re-established thewebsite, using a new domain name (ValEKilmer),” said Talboy.
As the internet continues to grow, so does internet crime and unfortunately, we are all vulnerable. So what can be done?
Federal Trade Commission Recommendations
1. Avoid any domain name pre-registration service that guarantees particular top level domain names or preferential treatment in the assignment of new top level domain names.
2. Avoid doing business with people who send unsolicited faxes, regardless of the offer. Unsolicited faxes are illegal.
3. Staying on top of the news about top level domain names at the ICANN website. Yes, that is the company that just got hacked last month.
Consumer Fraud Reporting recommends the above precautions and adds three more of their own:
1. Stick to well known, larger domain registrars (like Godaddy, 1 & 1–our personal favorite) they usually have the best rates (and yes again, this is the same 1 & 1 that is holding Kilmer’s domain name).
2. Once you have registered your domain name, return to the same registrar for renewals and any changes.
3. If you want to change domain registrars, do so through the process established, by starting at your current registrar.
Bottom Line: As domain name registrars and overseers improve security standards, hackers and thieves are also updating their skills, leaving all of us vulnerable as we risk our very names to keep up with the ‘cyber-Jones.’