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Scam websites can impersonate your business
Scammers are defrauding consumers and businesses by creating scam websites impersonating well-known brands.
Businesses impersonated by scammers may suffer brand damage and loss of consumer trust and confidence. Your customers may suffer financial loss and potential identity compromise when engaging with these fraudulent websites.
Protecting your brand online
If you’re a business, you can do the following to protect your brand online.
Monitor your business name and use of your brand online
Just like you might monitor your market and keep an eye on your competitors, you should also monitor the use of your business and brand name. Monitoring can be done in-house or via outsourced monitoring and removal services.
Doing this will mean that fraudulent websites can be detected and removed before any harm occurs to your business or consumers.
Establish a reporting pathway
Establish a clear avenue for your customers to report website impersonation to you so you can act quickly.
Take action if your brand or website is being impersonated
If you become aware your brand or website is being impersonated, take these steps:
- Find out who is hosting the fraudulent website
Verify the web host of the fraudulent website through a free public verification website. These services can be found by conducting an internet search on “who hosts this site?”.
- Report the fraudulent website to the hosting provider
Report the impersonation to the website hosting provider. As the owner of the intellectual property in your business and brand, you are best placed to make this report.
Review the web hosting provider’s website for how to report. This might be through a webform or emailed complaint.
Your report should include information about your intellectual property rights being affected and a request to take the fraudulent website down.
- Report fraudulent websites to Scamwatch
Reporting scam websites to Caponet Scam Watch helps Caponet Scam Watch raise consumer awareness about how to recognise and avoid scams.
- Alert your customers
Place a warning on your social media accounts, website, or app to inform your customers of the fraudulent activity. Include how they can report the activity to you and provide links to Caponet Scam Watch advice on how they can protect themselves online.