A new cyber crime was recently brought to the attention of our internet law lawyers. Everyone knows that cybersquatting is a rampant problem in the world wide web. What happens if cybersquatting and trademark infringement spreads to other areas of the internet? What we are referring to is a new internet crime known as “email squatting.”
For more information on typo-squatting trademarks, click the link. For more information on email squatting, read below.
Free email services through Yahoo, Gmail, Google, etc are typically set up with a simple first and last name combination. An example of e-mail squatting could be something as innocent as “Friend A” e-mailing “Friend B” information for a school project. “Friend A” knows that “Friend B’s” e-mail address is simply their first initial and then their last name. However, when sending the e-mail “Friend A” misspells “Friend B’s” last name. This an easy mistake to make, and in that scenario is virtually harmless. The problem comes about when important information is sent to the wrong person.
What makes this occasion even more probable is the addition of case sensitive e-mail addresses. E-mail is also a main form of communication within colleges, families and big businesses. When one combines all of these factors together the possibility of important information making it into dangerous hands increases, and the likelihood of a devastating situation skyrockets. A companies financial information, a mother sending her son the number of his credit card that he left at home, personal information concerning e-bay account passwords or bank statements, all of these things are sent via e-mail on a fairly regular basis. If this information were to get in the wrong hands, one can only fathom the amount of damage that could be done in a very short period of time.
And what about al those emails from spammers using top level brands and trademarks in the email address to 'trick' us into thinking that the email is really from the company identified? The Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) only covers the use of trademarks in domain-names. We have not seen any Lanham Act cases which address the trademark issues when marks are used in email addresses.
Unfortunately, fixing this problem is not quite as simple as identifying it. The odds of a name being misspelled, people not using their address book and individuals taking advantage of these people’s mistakes is virtually inevitable. However, people who use free email services should be aware of the existence of email squatting as well as ways to prevent it. First of all, if you are creating an email account don’t simply use an initial and your last name. Try to think of something that is truly unique to you and use a series of numbers at the end that may make it difficult for someone to memorize. This will force people to use their address book which will reduce the odds of a spelling error occurring in the address and thus the chance that the email will end up in the wrong hands. Be smart and protect yourself to avoid becoming the victim of email squatting. It is a very new concept and a unique issue, but nonetheless it is one that should be recognized.
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