Cyber-squatting: How to make money from registering company website names and URLs

Cyber-squatting seems to be back - and as a big business way of making money. Duncan McDonald, a postman from Cardiff, has apparently been running a lucrative sideline in his free time, holding businesses to ransom by buying up company names.

According to a report in the Sunday Times, he scans the internet for announcements about companies changing names or planning takeovers and then goes direct to the headquarters of Companies House, which is based in the Welsh capital, and claims the title for himself. It costs him £20 and then demands up to £100,000 to sell it to the firms.

The newspaper claims embarrassed businesses have tried to hush it up and that one lawyer McDonald has come into conflict with estimates he has earned a six-figure sum from his efforts.

His targets have included BP, Shell, Taylor Wimpey, DJ Chris Evans and Bob Geldof, through a subsidiary of his media company Ten Alps.

McDonald told the Sunday Times: 'I've done nothing to be ashamed of, but as far as I’m concerned it is ancient history now. Everything has been tightened up because people have realised what is going on. I'm not going into how much money I’ve made on it but, put it this way, I’m not a multi-millionaire.'

Cybersquatting is nothing new, becoming famous during the dotcom bubble of 1999-2000. 

One of the world’s most prolific buyers of celebrity domain names is a Canadian, Jeff Burgar, who has clashed with Tom Cruise, Pierce Brosnan and Kevin Spacey over websites incorporating their names, says the ST.

The practice often involves people purchasing domain names which then re-direct people surfing the internet to expensive pay-per-click advertising sites. David Beckham was a victim last year when he signed for LA Galaxy soccer club.

Within 90 minutes of the announcement being made, one cyber squatter in Milton Keynes had snapped up www.lagalaxy.org, www.lagalaxy.info and www.lagalaxy.co.uk. Meanwhile in the States www.davidbeckhamgalaxy.com, www.beckhamgalaxy.info and www.beckhamgalaxy.com were all bought up quickly.

As McDonald says, the opportunity to make money from selling URLs may be petering out but getting some quick pay-per-click advertising still seems to be paying off for some.

- This is Money

Comments

[David Hansel, Memery Crystal]

I am the lawyer who exposed the McDonald story and gave it to the Sunday Times, having investigated his activities for some time. I am quoted in their article.

Your article is incorrect. Mr McDonald is NOT a cyber-squatter - he does not register domain names or URLs with a view to getting cash from the rightful trade mark owners.

Instead what he has done is register company names. That activity has, in my opinion, been even more damaging than the activities of many cyber-squatters. And he has been doing it since the mid 1990s - long before the begining of cyber-squatting.

[CL Low]

I had register a very well known brand in asia with .asia, how could I profit from it?

[Make Money Online]

This is a great post, thank you.

[Ryan G]

There is still cash to be made out of this, but not through hi-jacking prospective URLS. Related URLS with decent content can still cash-in quite nicely.