What Covid Has Meant for Cybercrime

In response to a dramatic rise in cybercrime during the Covid pandemic, it has been important to keep a close eye on domain registration to try to mitigate the effect of fraudulent users taking advantage of the pandemic to commit acts of cybercrime.

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Due Diligence Checks

With so many new domain names being registered, it has been important to make sure that domain name registrars identify those that look like they could be high risk and don’t approve the domain until thorough due diligence checks have been carried out. When a domain name is suspended the registrant receives an email and instructions for the next part of the process if they feel that they have been treated unfairly. These extra precautions have seen a large number of new domains not passing the extra diligence checks, so this is keeping scams at bay, but as criminals realise the UK is quick to act on fraudulent activity, they are more likely to look elsewhere.

Working with Law Enforcement

With domain registrars working in partnership with law enforcement agencies, it makes it harder for criminals to get their counterfeit goods to UK customers. Law enforcement officers can monitor and trace fraudulent domain users and disrupt criminals’ business to protect the public and prevent people from falling victim to the scams.

Buying Your Domain

To give you some idea of the scale of the problem, see this article for detailed figures of the fraudulent activity going on: https://www.professionalsecurity.co.uk/news/case-studies/domain-names-and-covid/. If you’re looking to buy domain names for your business, you can check on websites like this one for reassurance about security – https://www.names.co.uk/domain-names. However, be prepared to answer questions for due diligence checks. Domain registrars will guide you through the best way of registering the right domain for you, and they are also vigilant at identifying possible phishing domains and they will take swift action on this.

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Good News

The good news is that the extra due diligence checks seem to be working, but it is very important to continue to act swiftly to intercept possible problems at the domain registration stage. As more fraudulent businesses are stopped in their tracks, it makes it harder for criminals to carry out cybercrime attacks. So many domains have been fraudulently linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, and it has been essential to spot these and stop them going further.