Spam Study Released Data on ‘Brandjacking’

On August 20, 2007, enterprise brand protection firm based in San Francisco, MarkMonitor, released its new survey. In June 2007, the company tracked over 100,000 drug-linked spam landing Websites and discovered that most of them does not have a sound Internet security in place and does not sell authentic brand of drugs that could harm users lured by its offer of low price.

Not just that, the survey also gives proper data on the practice called 'Brandjacking', which covers many online dangers to reputed brand names. In its report, MarkMonitor talks about the fake sample drugs bought from this Website and tested as either diluted, expired, stolen or a form of some branded drug.

The survey was conducted on an electronic analysis of 3,160 online pharmaceutical companies and 60 Million mail solicitations from many sources, collected within a four-week period in June 2007. Out of these 3,160 online pharmacies, only 4 were granted as VIPPS (Verify Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites). Further, one-third of these online pharmacies involved in this drug-linked spam messages have created sufficient traffic to be offered an Alexa ranking.

President and Chief Executive of MarkMonitor, Irfan Salim, said that the survey shows that 'brandjackers' are misusing the brands by using sophisticated techniques. He also said that in case of pharmaceutical industry, this emerges as a more dangerous thing for the users through questionable practices that point to grey markets and counterfeiting, as per the news in Vnunet.com on August 20, 2007.

On the consumers' part, cautious buying isn't sufficient. The holders of the brand should carefully tackle their online brands from the emerging threats of 'brandjackers'.

A GP and the member of British Medical Association's Joint IT committee, Dr Paul Cundy, said that the major problem lies in the inability of buyers to know from whom they are purchasing, what they are purchasing and what is there in it, as per the news of Vnunet.com on August 20, 2007.

As per the MarkMonitor, many online pharmacies were examined out of which, 58% were hosted in US and 18% in UK. To avoid any confrontation with authentic brand owners, few of the online pharmacies have turned to 'kiting'. It is a practice followed by companies when they register and use a domain name for the grace period of five days or less allowed by ICANN without actually buying that domain.

Related article: Spam Scam Bags a Scottish Connection

» SPAMfighter News - 9/3/2007