MARCH 7, 2002 

By Jane Black 

Invasion of the "Porn Nappers" 
Beware: Smut-site owners are waiting to grab your URL if you allow your registration for it to lapse 

Charles Mondin, the director of the United Senior Health Cooperative (USHC), knows why I'm calling before I tell him. "We get a lot of calls about our Web site," he chuckles knowingly. For the last six months, the organization's official Web site has been located at www.unitedseniorshealth.org. But previously, it had a different URL (or Web site address) -- and now, when you type in the old address, you end up on a hard-core pornography site. 

According to Mondin, just days after the organization, which educates elderly citizens about health benefits, let the old URL lapse, it was snatched up by a pornographer. A shocked consumer alerted USHC, which contacted the new owner via an e-mail link on the site about buying it back. The owner, an Eastern European, said it would cost $3,000 to $5,000 -- a hefty sum for the small nonprofit. Mondin passed. "We learned a good lesson the hard way," says Mondin. The current owner did not respond to repeated e-mails requesting comment for this story. 

While Mondin has maintained a sense of humor about the incident, such a problem can be a serious threat to a corporation's online identity. In cyberspace, your domain name is your brand. And that's at risk if your URL is suddenly transformed into a porn site. 

More at: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/mar2002/nf2002037_2837.htm