It’s the second WIPO case involving 500+ domains decided this month.
Empower Annuity Insurance Company has won (pdf) a cybersquatting complaint against 537 domain names used in a phishing scheme.
The domain names are typos of Empower’s brand or look similar when viewed in a text message. For example, einp0wer .shop, emp0werrmz .qpon, and empowerworkplaceh .top were among the domains at issue.
All of the domains have something in common: they were registered in new top level domain names that offer very cheap first-year registrations, often $1-$2.
These cheap domains attract bad actors, as they can quickly churn through domain names without spending as much money as registering more expensive names, such as .coms.
This case is the second big cybersquatting dispute to be decided by World Intellectual Property Organization this year. Earlier this month, L’Oréal won a case for 705 domains.
Imagine renewing all that garbage, even the bad actor would probably not do it.