LONDON: David Beckham’s switch to US Major League Soccer sparked a mad scramble by cyber-squatters for Internet domain names that could cash in on the move, industry insiders said.
Within minutes of the ex-England captain announcing he will join Los Angeles Galaxy after his contract at Spanish giants Real Madrid runs out in June, cyber-squatters were buying up a host of names linked to the big-money move.
Cyber-squatters buy up domain names cheaply and then often sell them to the persons or companies whose names are involved at a vastly inflated price. Midfielder Beckham, 31, is one of the world’s most marketable sports stars and his new five-year deal is worth a reported 248 million dollars.
NetNames, which manages domain name portfolios for top companies and celebrities, said that within 90 minutes, a cyber-squatter in southern England has bought
www.lagalaxy.co.uk,
www.lagalaxy.info and
www.lagalaxy.org.
In the US,
www.davidbeckhamgalaxy. com,
www.beckhamgalaxy.com and
www.beckhamgalaxy.info were all registered quickly. “This is some of the fastest cyber squatting I have ever seen,” said Jonathan Robinson, chief operating officer of NetNames.
“David Beckham is a major international brand and there are clearly many people who have seen an opportunity to cash in. He said stars are vulnerable to cyber squatters if they don’t act fast to secure domains before they need them.
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