Keyword | Number of domains |
citibank* | 497 |
bankofamerica* | 407 |
lloyds* | 994 |
bnpparibas* | 41 |
egold* | 691 |
hsbc* | 1258 |
chase* | 6470 |
paypal* | 1634 |
ebay* | 8057 |
When someone in, say, Nigeria wants to register a domain name that starts with the name of a well known bank, why are the registrars so willing to let them register it?
Some examples of existing, active registrations, using Citibank as an example:
citibank-america.com
citibank-credicard.com

citibank-credit-card.com
citibank-credit-cards.com
citibank-account-updating.com
citibank-creditcard.com
citibank-loans.com
citibank-login.com
citibank-online-security.com
citibank-secure.com
citibank-site.com
citibank-sucks.com
citibank-update.com
citibank-updateinfo.com
citibank-updating.com
citibankaccount.com
citibankaccountonline.com
citibankaccounts.com
citibankaccountsonline.com
citibankbank.com
Some of these are probably perfectly legitimate. Others probably are not...like citibank-account-updating.com, registered last Friday to Ms. Evelyn Musa in Arlington, VA?