Faux.fr, domain name news site
Solidnames publishes faux.fr, a new news site on domain names used for malicious purposes. Internet abuse is on the increase, with the sale of counterfeit products and phishing campaigns.
Faux.fr deals with these different types of damage based on cybersquatting domain names. Two main categories of news are covered in faux.fr: counterfeit marketing and phishing.
News domain names selling counterfeit goods
The availability of fake products on the web increases every year. The fashion industry has always been a prime example of counterfeiting on the Internet. Clothing, footwear (e.g. sneakers or boots), jewelry and fashion accessories (e.g. bags) are regularly counterfeited.
But fashion isn’t the only industry affected by fake products.
Toys, medicines and cigarettes are also counterfeited and distributed via disputed Internet addresses. In fact, even Decathlon’s EASYBREATH diving masks are counterfeit!
The other news item on faux.fr concerns phishing.
Phishing in the Faux.fr domain name news
Phishing brings together various techniques used to fraudulently obtain personal data, particularly financial data.
Once again, cybersquatted domain names are being used to send fake e-mails and create fake websites.
Generally speaking, the general public often thinks of bank phishing when the newspapers talk about phishing. On the other hand, many other types of business fall victim to phishing.
Public institutions like the tax authorities, catering groups, telephone operators, social networks: anyone can be targeted by this type of scam.
Fraudulent collection of personal data can take the form of a fake survey or the promise of a gift card. Fake job offers can also be used as subterfuge.
Fake refund e-mails are another technique used. Phishing is often based on theusurpation of a third party’sidentity, and the subsequent hacking of deceived users.
UDRPs analyzed to keep track of disputed domain names
Faux.fr analyzes numerous extrajudicial proceedings of the “UDRP” type to produce its domain name news articles.
These procedures enable holders of prior trademarks to quickly recover domain names that have been used maliciously.
They are issued by arbitration centers such as WIPO, NAF or CAC. As a general rule, trademarks are represented by law firms specializing in intellectual property.
Companies that are victims of counterfeiting or phishing are alerted to such damage by brand monitoring software.
Companies such as SOLIDNAMES offer services to detect new domain name registrations using a brand name. In the event of a potentially fraudulent registration, a specific domain name monitoring service tracks the progress of the disputed address.
There’s no denying that these services are extremely useful in the fight against counterfeiting and phishing.
Faux.fr, a real domain name for keeping up with the news
Many people following SOLIDNAMES on Twitter or YouTube have noticed the first articles published on faux.fr.
Many people have asked us how much we paid for this domain name. A short domain name (4 letters), in a major country Internet extension such as .FR for France, is normally worth several thousand euros.
Contrary to what many people may have thought, SOLIDNAMES did not have to buy this domain name. In fact, the domain name was available for purchase!
However, faux.fr could not be reserved immediately like any other domain name.
It should be noted that this domain name is one of the terms subject to prior examination established by AFNIC. In other words, you have to apply to the French domain name registry to obtain these specific addresses. Faux was classified as a crime-related term in the AFNIC list.
SOLIDNAMES therefore submitted its request toAFNIC and provided a mock-up of the future website. After validation by the .FR domain name registry, SOLIDNAMES obtained faux.fr.
From now on, you can follow the latest news on anti-counterfeiting and phishing on faux.fr.