Each year, the Black Friday/Cyber Monday event comes with multiple and heterolytic cyber threats, including cybersquatting and typosquatting. In this regard, the mere creation of a domain name is not an end in itself, so strong are the greedy inclinations. In a few hours or even a few minutes, the domain name holder would be able to create a website sufficiently similar to that of a well-known brand to generate confusion among consumers and deceive them by means of phishing, counterfeiting, or any other type of fraud.
The most expeditious solution remains the extrajudicial procedure. For example, the WIPO procedure D2018-2758 is eloquent. It concerned the domain names <gallerieslafayette-prive.com>, <gallerieslafayetteprive.com> and <gallerieslafayette-prive.com>. The cybersquatter had registered these domain names on November 22 and 23, 2018, exactly in the Black Friday / Cyber Monday period. Using a website creation platform (in this case, Wix), the cybersquatter immediately published a site similar to the famous Galeries Lafayette and capable of collecting banking data. In addition, to increase traffic, he/she also created a fake Twitter account (WIPO, D2018-2758, Société Anonyme des Galeries Lafayette v. Perfect Privacy, LLC / Ylliass Aaziz, Yamin Ouarti, April 8, 2019; in the same vein: WIPO, D2017-0547, Moncler SpA v. Trani Johanna, newbeta, May 23, 2017; WIPO, D2019-0191, Société Air France v. Registration Private, Domains By Proxy, LLC / albuquerque Albuquerque, hwuaye, March 25, 2019, to refer only to cases related to Black Friday because the situation is the same regardless of the event involved: Christmas, Valentine’s day, etc.).
In such a situation, the brand owner must be able to answer quickly, as the facts are susceptible to a criminal qualification. At all times, the reaction time is essential. Since every day counts, it is recommended to opt for domain name monitoring plus daily alerts and maintain a team of lawyers ready to react without delay.
