Domains of Danger – Covid Consumer Con Job

Three questions to Tom Galvin, executive director of Digital Citizens Alliance

In the corona crisis, bad actors have abused the domain name system for fraud against worried consumers. No end to the innovation in internet crime. Digital Citizens Alliance wrote a report on the topic, Netopia spoke to its executive director.

How did criminals use domain names for Covid-scams?

Like in every crisis, there are bad actors who take advantage of people’s fears.

Like in every crisis, there are bad actors who take advantage of people’s fears. In the case of COVID, the Digital Citizens’ investigation found scammers peddling fake vaccines and poor quality face masks. The FTC and FDA reported tens of thousands of domains registered during the early days of the COVID crisis – many with phrases such as “covidcure” designed to dupe consumers.

Your research covers the United States, can you say something about Europe?

Whether the domains are based in Europe or in the United States. That is why we need a global response

The Internet is border-less, so scams created in one region can exploit people around the globe. That is true with COVID scams, whether the domains are based in Europe or in the United States. That is why we need a global response to the issue of COVID scams, whether the domain is a .eu, .fr, .us, or .com.

What should be done to stop or avoid this? Who has the power to take action? Government? ICANN? Courts?

Combatting Internet frauds, scams and crime takes a broad global effort. That means law enforcement and regulatory action, potential new laws, and vigilant work by consumer-protection organizations both in and outside government. For example, Digital Citizens created a COVID scam awareness campaign to alert consumers about the risks.

 

Tom Galvin is Digital Citizens Alliance Team Executive Director and is “focused on bringing a voice to consumers, including those who have been victimized online. By putting a face on the victims of online crime, Digital Citizens will serve our fellow citizens and issue a wake-up call to policymakers and Internet companies that they must do more to protect us.”

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