What is a typo-squatter?

Question

I am doing something for my e-Commerce class on a man named John Zuccarini. And I need to know what a typo squatter is. I have looked for the definition but I can't find it anywhere. Can someone tell me what exactly a typo-squatter is?

Answer 1

According to Keyt Law (office I assume) this is the definition

A "typosquatter" is a person who registers a domain name that is a misspelled variation of a trade mark or service mark. Typosquatting includes variations of marks resulting from adding or subtracting punctuation in a domain name such as "widget-world.com" to get viewers who mistakenly add a hyphen when typing "widgetworld.com."

The whole article may be handy for your paper. Here is the link. I found it by googling
Zuccarini typosquatter (no space in the second word)

http://www.keytlaw.com/urls/typosquatter.htm

Good luck with your paper

Answer 2

typosquatter noun. A person who registers one or more Internet domain names based on the most common typographical errors that a user might commit when entering a company's registered trademark name (e.g., amazom.com).

Typosquatting, also called URL hijacking, is a form of cybersquatting which relies on mistakes such as typographical errors made by Internet users when inputting a website address into a web browser. Should a user accidentally enter an incorrect website address, they may be led to an alternative address owned by a cybersquatter.

A typosquatter registers domain names which closely resemble high-traffic websites, but feature common misspellings and consumer confusions. A typosquatter might register several domain names like Anazon.com, Amazzon.com, Amazons.com and so on. Customers seeking the real Amazon.com website may accidentally type the wrong URL, which directs them to one of the typosquatter's own websites. These websites are usually nothing more than a collection of lucrative click-thru advertisements. In some cases, the sites are pornographic. Even using .net instead of .com can lead to a typosquatter's website.

Another trick used by typosquatters is to register domain names using one or two adjacent letters. Consumers in a hurry might type in smazon.com or hoogle.com, since the letters 's' and 'h' are adjacent to the correct letters on the keyboard. A typosquatter will often register dozens of these typo-laden domain names.

In addition, a typosquatter may register variations such as NobleandBarnes.com, BensandJerry.com or JenniferLopes.com. Their hope is that some customers will not know the exact URL of the company's website, so they will input something similar. Even an missing hyphen can cause a web surfer to be rerouted to a typosquatter's lair. From there, escape is impossible without clicking on several pop-up ads, a practice known as 'mousetrapping'.

John Zuccarini (born late 1940s/early 1950s) is an American businessman who served time in federal prison for violating the Truth in Domain Names Act. Zuccarini operated a domain name speculation business. He is reported as owning 5500 domains before his arrest.