New policy speeds up old process for blocking domains used for fake web stores and phishing.
A new policy will help take down .be domains within 24 hours when used for fraudulent purposes, such as phishing.
DNS Belgium, the group that manages Belgium’s .be country code domain, announced that it will start taking down domains used for fraudulent purposes within as little as 24 hours. The new policy goes into effect on December 1.
The group can delete domain names at the request of FPS Economy, which is sort of like the trade and economic competitiveness arm of the government.
Names used for sites selling fraudulent goods or phishing websites can be blocked within 24 hours. The registrant has two weeks to respond to such action and the domains will be deleted after 6 months.
Previously, FPS Economy couldn’t ask DNS Belgium to block websites based on content, only fraudulent or inaccurate identification data. An application had to be filed with the crown prosecution service in order to block a domain, a process which takes at least two weeks.
DNS Belgium says there are “several hundreds” of fraudulent websites each year.
This approach differs from some other country codes in Europe. For example, Denmark has found that cracking down on false ownership information has eliminated almost all sites used for fake stores. You can learn more about Denmark’s approach on DNW Podcast #208.
