Brandjackers increasingly abuse top-ranked pharmaceutical brands via cybersquatting and typosquatting

MarkMonitor Reports Continuing Rise in Online Abuse of Top Drug Brands

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MarkMonitor®, the global leader in enterprise brand protection, today released the Summer 2008 Brandjacking Index™, reporting that brandjackers increasingly abuse top-ranked pharmaceutical brands, endangering consumers via a supply chain compromised by the sale of questionable prescription drugs through dubious online pharmacies and exchange sites. The report also found that cybersquatting of leading brands has reached an all-time high and that phishers are targeting an increased number of diverse organizations for the first time.

“Our year-over-year trend data shows a grave situation: The number of people looking to save money by buying pharmaceuticals over the Web is growing rapidly while scammers are more aggressively exploiting loose controls over online sales of drugs,” said Irfan Salim, president and chief executive officer of MarkMonitor. “As consumers increasingly turn to the Internet to buy medications, brandholders must ensure these customers are not faced with the potentially life-threatening risk of buying fake or sub-standard medications.”

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