Cybersquatting suit against 32 domain names — Blackrock files

Firm asks court to hand over dozens of domains it states infringe its trademarks.

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BlackRock Finance (NYSE:BLK) has filed an in rem lawsuit against 32 domain names.

The financial firm alleges (pdf) that the domains are used for many nefarious purposes. For example:

With respect to the BLARCKROCK .COM domain, the domain registrant and/or an individual acting in concert with the registrant used an email address emanating from the domain name to misrepresent him/herself as a BlackRock employee to BlackRock’s clients. The fraudster sought to misdirect payments intended for BlackRock, by directing BlackRock’s clients to send future wire payments to accounts that had no association with BlackRock.

With respect to BLACKROCKINDIA .NET, the domain registrant or an individual acting in concert with the registrant used the domain to set up a website and social media accounts posing as a trading platform. At least one consumer lost money when he “invested” through the fraudulent website, falsely believing it to be affiliated with BlackRock. On information and belief, other Defendant Domain Names are being used or were registered with the intent to be used for similar fraudulent schemes.

Other domains have been used for pay-per-click links and to distribute malware.

In addition to targeting the BlackRock trademark, some of the domains include terms related to the firm’s Aladdin portfolio management software.