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domains New York Targets Scam Coronavirus Domains

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The Office of the New York Attorney General (NYAG) is investigating the registration and use of coronavirus-related domains for the purposes of deceptive advertising, phishing schemes and malware dissemination. These activities may violate a number of laws, including but not limited to General Business Law § 349, Executive Law § 63(12), and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), as well as your terms of service for domain registration.

Download PDF (ny.gov) + Attached

In the course of its investigation, the NYAG has discovered that cybercriminals have been registering a significant number of domain names related to “coronavirus” in recent weeks and using those domains to conduct phishing campaigns and other attacks.
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In light of the above, the NYAG requests that you contact us as soon as possible to discuss how GoDaddy is protecting New Yorkers and others across the country from these scams. Some of the actions we would like to discuss with you are outlined below, but we would welcome a dialogue on the most effective steps to prevent bad actors from taking advantage of the current crisis:
  1. The use of automated and human review of domain name registration and traffic patterns to identify fraud;

  2. Human review of complaints from the public and law enforcement about fraudulent or illegal use of coronavirus domains, including creating special channels for such complaints;

  3. Revising your terms of service to reserve aggressive enforcement for the illegal use of coronavirus domains; and

  4. De-registration of the domains cited in the articles identified above that were registered at GoDaddy, and any holds in place on registering new domains related to coronavirus, or similar blockers that prevent rapid registration of coronavirus-related domains.
We look forward to discussing these issues with you as soon as possible.

K. A. B. | Chief Bureau of Internet and Technology New York State Office of the Attorney General

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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
I think there needs to be a better defining of "malicious". Yes there are bad websites that fall under this category but I think there are some websites I have encountered (not coronavirus related) that my mcafree and malwarebytes detected as containing malicious content.

Later I found out the domain owner either did not have SSL on the website or they installed a script on it to track the ip of visitors or to grab the email addresses of all visitors and store in a database.

or to automatically add the email addresses of all visitors to a newsletter.

or even a simple landing page Domain for sale page.

Some even get flag by my Mcafee and Malwarebytes as malicious simply because they force cookies on you or auto install bitcoin mining code into your pc turning your pc or laptop or even mobile into a mining slave.
 
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Coronavirus in NY: AG James orders Craigslist to pull ads for phony treatments

New York Attorney General Letitia James is taking aim at internet fraudsters looking to profit off the coronavirus pandemic ordering Craigslist to take down posts for phony cures and heavily marked-up items like hand sanitizer.

Craigslist has carried ads in recent days for products falsely claiming that they can provide immunity or protection from COVID-19, including phony test kits, immunity packs, and masks, according to a news release from James’ office.

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved any coronavirus vaccines or treatments, and the World Health Organization has said there is no medicine available to prevent or treat the disease.

“These fake products have no place in the marketplace or on a site that consumers trust for everyday purchases,” James said in the release.

“We’re demanding that Craigslist remove these posts immediately and ensure the company has policies in place to stop scammers from taking advantage of vulnerable and panicked consumers.”

read more (nypost)
 
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The New York Attorney General office ordered The Wayne Allyn Root Show - Newsmax Media to stop marketing through the show and his social media accounts products as treatments or cures for the coronavirus.

"My office will not hesitate to take action against all those who use the coronavirus as a get-rich-quick scheme at a consumer’s expense"
New York Attorney General Letitia James



Download PDF (NY GOV)

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Download PDF (NY GOV)
 
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New York Attorney General wants GoDaddy, Namecheap and other domain registrars to crack down on coronavirus scam sites.

Letters were sent to GoDaddy, Dynadot, Name.com, Namecheap, Register.com, and Endurance International Group (owner of Bluehost.com, Domain.com, and HostGator.com).

ZDNet reached out to all six companies seeking comment on the letters they received. Three of the six replied.

Of the answers we received, the most comprehensive set of measures was deployed by Namecheap, according to the company's CEO, Richard Kirkendall.

In an email, Kirkendall said his company has already been working with authorities to "proactively prevent, and take down any fraudulent or abusive domains or websites related to COVID19 or the Coronavirus."

"These actions also include banning such terms from our available domain name search tool to prevent them from being registered going forward," Kirkendall told us.

But only Namecheap appears to have taken proactive steps to block customers from registering coronavirus scammy-looking domains.

On the other hand, GoDaddy and Endurance said they'd continue to rely on their abuse reporting mechanisms that are currently in place.

read more (zdnet)
 
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