Cybersquatting, Fraud & Counterfeit Brands Continue to Proliferate on the Web

Traverse Legal Attorneys continue to track the continued growth of counterfeit brands and online fraud across the Internet.  Few companies appreciate the risk they face from scammers who mimic their brands online, then seek to use information gained from customers for fraudulent purposes.  In some cases, as is clear from the article below, the customers do not realize they have purchased counterfeit goods online.  Counterfeit components have turned up on U.S. Military, NATO, and NASA Space Shuttle, as well as Air Force One.  These counterfeit goods find their way into the system in a variety of ways and can dramatically harm companies seeking to protect their brands online.  It used to be that counterfeiters fit the profile of the street vendor in New York selling fake Gucci watches.  Sophisticated hackers have taken the counterfeit business online, to the detriment of any company seeking to protect its brand and perceived quality of goods and services online. 

Suspect airline parts flood the net - Web User News

Irfan Salim, chief executive officer of MarkMonitor, said that scammers are taking full advantage of the fact that the internet is often the first port of call for many consumers. "Unfortunately, online criminals and scam artists find the internet full of opportunities to line their pockets at the expense of leading brands and customer trust," Salim said. Other key findings in the report revealed that 'cybersquatting', the practice of registering domain names containing a brand, had increased 40 per cent to 402,882 cases a week.

Additional Resources:

03.02.08
CNN.com
Brandjacking: Business Battles Online Scammers »

02.28.08
Legal Brief Today
Corporate brands targeted »

02.27.08
Internet Retailer
Online brand abusers keep changing their ways, MarkMonitor say »

02.26.08
Computerworld
Brands Online Face More Assults »

02.26.08
BizReport
MarkMonitor: Making Headway Against Brandjackers »

02.25.08
US News and World Report
Online Counterfeiters Gain Strength »

Technorati Tags: brand, Counterfeit, cybersquatting