Typosquatting


Typosquatting, also called URL hijacking, a sting site, or a fake URL, is a form of cybersquatting, and possibly brandjacking which relies on mistakes such as typos made by Internet users when inputting a website address into a web browser. Should a user accidentally enter an incorrect website address, they may be led to any URL.
The typosquatter's URL will usually be one of five kinds, all similar to the victim site address :
Similar abuses:
Once in the typosquatter's site, the user may also be tricked into thinking that they are in fact in the real site, through the use of copied or similar logos, website layouts, or content. Spam emails sometimes make use of typosquatting URLs to trick users into visiting malicious sites that look like a given bank's site, for instance.

Motivation

There are several different reasons for typosquatters buying a typo domain:
Many companies, including Verizon, Lufthansa, and Lego, have garnered reputations for aggressively chasing down typosquatted names. Lego, for example, has spent roughly US$500,000 on taking 309 cases through UDRP proceedings.
Celebrities have also frequently pursued their domain names, from singers to star athletes. Prominent examples include basketball player Dirk Nowitzki's UDRP of DirkSwish.com and actress Eva Longoria's UDRP of EvaLongoria.org.
Since 2006, a typosquatted variant of Google called 'Goggle.com' has existed which was considered a phishing/fraud site; later the URL redirected to google.com, while a 2018 check revealed it to redirect users to adware pages. Another example of corporate typosquatting is yuube.com, targeting YouTube users by having it programmed to redirect to a malicious website or page, that asks users to add a security check extension that is really malware. Similarly, www.airfrance.com has been typosquatted by www.arifrance.com, diverting users to a website peddling discount travel. Other examples are Equifacks.com, Experianne.com, and TramsOnion.com ; these three typosquatted sites were registered by comedian John Oliver for his show Last Week Tonight.
Users trying to visit the popular internet-based game Agar.io may misspell the said URL as agor.io. Visiting this site was known to produce a jumpscare or screamer of the popular creepypasta Jeff the Killer, which flashed rapidly and produced a loud noise. The original site was taken down and as of 2017, it has linked to randomly-themed phishing websites.

In United States law

In the United States, the 1999 Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act contains a clause, amending 15 USC 1117 to include sub-section ) aimed at combatting typosquatting.
However, on April 17, 2006, evangelist Jerry Falwell failed to get the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision allowing Christopher Lamparello to use www.fallwell.com. Relying on a plausible misspelling of Falwell's name, Lamparello's gripe site presents misdirected visitors with scriptural references that are intended to counter the fundamentalist preacher's scathing rebukes against homosexuality. In Lamparello v. Falwell, the high court let stand a 2005 Fourth Circuit finding that "the use of a mark in a domain name for a gripe site criticizing the markholder does not constitute cybersquatting."

WIPO resolution procedure

Under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, trademark holders can file a case at the World Intellectual Property Organization against typosquatters. The complainant has to show that the registered domain name is identical or confusingly similar to their trademark, that the registrant has no legitimate interest in the domain name, and that the domain name is being used in bad faith.