Online Baby Store Finlee and Me at the Centre of "Domain Name Gate" Controversy Tearing Mumpreneur Industry Apart
Scammers are targeting Mumpreneur businesses for "cyber-squatting" extortion. Online baby store Finlee and Me has found itself at the centre of the Domain Name Gate controversy which is currently going viral through Australia's media.
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA, May 29, 2013
Mumpreneur businesses this week found themselves the targets of what's being dubbed "Domain Name Gate" by Australian media outlets. Cyber Squatting is where unscrupulous web scammers "hijack" the web addresses of unsuspecting businesses and hold them to ransom. One Mumpreneur was reportedly asked for $20,000 for the return of her domain name or offered the ability to "lease it" for $600 a month. Finlee And Me lost access to the ".com" version of their domain name http://www.finleeandme.com.au in the current scam."It's most upsetting for me because my little business is named after my son. I can't stand the idea that someone else could potentially "set up shop" in my little boy's name" said Angela Henderson, work at home mum and owner of Finlee and Me.
Domain Squatting is not a new scam. There are hundreds of thousands of domains available for extortionate prices in online auctions. Business.com for example sold for $8 million. It's a big business for online domain name traders and the law is yet to catch up with this industry. What's different here is that specific brands have been targeted. This isn't uncommon in the ruthless business world but in the small Mumpreneur industry, it's previously unheard of.
"Mumpreneur is a term for a business started to directly boost the family income to cope with the financial stress of raising children. Every penny that comes out of the Mumpreneur budget is another meal that's taken off the table, or a ballet class a child can't attend. That's why this is so upsetting for the brands being targeted." Said Dana Flannery, owner of Online Marketing Company Talk About Creative, a Mumpreneur herself.
"I don't have $20,000 to pay out of pocket to get my domain name back - I just sell baby products online. I have a new baby and a three year old and the cost of being a stay at home mum is just too high. It's so hard to make ends meet for young families these days that this kind of thing is terribly upsetting." Said Ms Henderson.