Protect You and Your Company from Typo-squatting

The newest phishing attack to hit Twitter yesterday was a type of cyberscam called typo-squatting. This falls under a more generic term, cybersquatting. This attack took advantage of the similarities between a double v (tvvitter) and a w (twitter) to scam you into revealing your login information.Other typo-squatting simply takes advantage of the pay-per-click system to rack in money that should be coming to your organization. According to a recent independent report, cybersquatting increased by 248% in the past year.

Fairwinds Partners, an internet strategy consulting firm, estimates that a company such as Myspace, who has 5.94 % of its traffic being diverted to its top ten typo pages stands to “lose the marketing equivalent of between $400,000 and $700,000 each month”. Although the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) was intended to protect against these scams, they are still common enough to present a real danger to customers and companies.

There are several ways that users can try to protect themselves against typo-squatting. Microsoft has suggested settings to enhance your browser. They have even developed a download called Typo-Patrol. More simply, you can avoid clicking on links to navigate to websites and type carefully each web address you visit. As an organization, there are several companies that will help you prosecute typo-squatters and monitor for cybersquatting. You may also may use the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy website to lodge a dispute. You may also wish to visit the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse for more resources.