Mayoral Candidates Fall Victim to Cybersquatters

Mayoral Candidates Fall Victim to Cybersquatters

In the build up to the London mayoral elections, cybersquatters have begun to register dozens of key domain names relating to the candidates, lacing them with ‘pay-per click’ advertising sites solely designed to make money from the voters.

Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson have fast become the subject of most of the activity, however the ways in which the candidates have been targeted by the cybersquatters couldn’t be more different, with Ken Livingstone having to take the brunt of the negativity.

Ken Livingstone has been the subject of much negative cybersquatting, with domains registered such as www.ihatekenlivingstone.org and www.kenlivingstone.org which boasts an image of Ken Livingstone as a cowboy and the headline “Do you really want to pay for Ken Livingstone and his cronies?”

Boris Johnson, however, has only fallen victim to straight forward pay-per click advertising sites. The sites are either straight forward click farms that feature pay-per click advertising to make money from unsuspecting voters sites like www.borisjohnson.net which is an independent supporters site, or www.borisjohnsonformayor.com, which is a site dedicated to what’s on in London.

Meanwhile, numerous other domain names relating to these two candidates have been snapped up by cybersquatters in anticipation of the election, including www.kenlivingstone.net, www.backken.com, www.borisjohnsonmayor.com, and www.mayorborisjohnson.com.

In stark contrast, despite having many key domains available, Lib Dem candidate Brian Paddick has come across minimal cybersquatting.

Boris Johnson seems to be the most proactive of the candidates at protecting his brand online, with no fewer than 10 domain names pointing to his official site www.backboris.com, minimising the potential damage.

This trend might suggest that the Tories have learned from previous negative experiences online such as the infamous spoof of David Cameron's video blog ‘Web Cameron’ created by Labour MP Sion Simon.

Jonathan Robinson, Chief Operating Officer of NetNames, domain name management expert, said: “With two such high profile London Mayor candidates like Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson, cybersquatters and online speculators are bound to be waiting in the wings to register campaign relevant domains.

“It is very hard to stop negative websites and click farms springing up, but by leaving obvious domains unregistered, the candidates have provided a route for cybersquatters to make money from unsuspecting voters looking for official campaign information,” Robinson added.

by
Amel Rebika