Investment behemoth BlackRock flexes its legal muscles, hurling a lawsuit at 44 copycat websites, alleging their intent to sow confusion and reap illicit profits.

In a grand spectacle of legal bravado, BlackRock, the finance juggernaut, has taken its sword of justice to the realm of the internet to fight for the you, the public. With a lawsuit filed last week in a U.S. court, BlackRock aims to vanquish the owners of 44 treacherous internet domain names that could be used to create websites. These digital marauders stand accused of employing the domain names in a nefarious dance of deception revolving around a variety of scams. The filing can be read here.

BlackRock and The Web of Deceit

The domains in question bear names such as "Blackrock," "Aladdin," "capital," "crypto," and "investments." BlackRock's claim, declared with resolute certainty, is that these domains were birthed in the shadow of malevolence, designed to ensnare and exploit the unsuspecting. The tactics in their dark arsenal include the display of pay-per-click ads, the sowing of malware, and the orchestration of email phishing Phishing Phishing is a form of cyber-attack in which fake websites, emails, and text messages are used to elicit personal data. The most common targets in this assault are passwords, private cryptocurrency keys, and credit card details.Phishers disguise themselves as reputable businesses and other types of entities. In certain instances, reputable government organizations or authorities are impersonated in order to collect this data.Because phishing relies on psychological manipulation rather than techno Phishing is a form of cyber-attack in which fake websites, emails, and text messages are used to elicit personal data. The most common targets in this assault are passwords, private cryptocurrency keys, and credit card details.Phishers disguise themselves as reputable businesses and other types of entities. In certain instances, reputable government organizations or authorities are impersonated in order to collect this data.Because phishing relies on psychological manipulation rather than techno Read this Term attacks, all designed to harvest the spoils from the unsuspecting public who were just seeking to connect with BlackRock and who inadvertently visit the malicious websites.

The Typographical Temptation

BlackRock's legal phalanx, led valiantly by Wiley Rein LLP, marshals studies revealing an unsettling truth - over 95% of the internet's 500 most illustrious websites fall prey to the sinister art of "typosquatting." This devious stratagem involves the registration of domains bearing an uncanny resemblance to legitimate websites, but with craftily introduced typographical errors. For example, one might register “BlackFock”, it looks similar to BlackRock, and the error involves only a single misplaced keystroke.

Naturally, the cybersquatting community is up in arms:

BlackRock alleges the entities have violated the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act by registering domains confusingly similar to its own. 44 internet domain names containing keywords such as “Blackrock,” “Aladdin,” “capital,” “crypto” and “investments.” pic.twitter.com/raHu4d107B

— DDDomains PerfumeCrew.com (@DdDomains) October 12, 2023

The Crypto Conundrum

Among all the dodgy domains, BlackRock encountered several involving cryptocurrency. "blackrock-crypto.net" remained firmly locked, while "crypto-blackrock.com" tantalizingly offered web design services. Yet, the vast majority of domains appear to be unresponsive, and this is a hallmark of cybersquatting, where domains are registered with sinister intent, the owners meaning to activate them in the future.

To put the potential criminals in their place, BlackRock leveraged publicly accessible domain registration data from the Whois database to unmask the domain owners. With this knowledge in hand, the company is now embarking on a quest for justice. They seek not only to wrest control of these insidious domains but to claim damages and procure court orders that would bar any further cybersquatting and trademark infringement against their cherished brands - BLACKROCK, ALADDIN, and BLK.

The defendants may soon learn that BlackRock is not to be trifled with, even in the digital realm.