Beckham deal sparks cyber-squatting frenzy

Cyber-squatters are cashing in on David Beckham's move to the States

David Beckham's proposed move from Real Madrid to the Los Angeles Galaxy football team has sparked a rush to buy up relevant internet domain names. 

Cyber-squatters pounced on domain names in an opportunistic bid to cash in on Beckham's move to the States just minutes after the deal was announced.

The cyber-squatting frenzy broke after Thursday's announcement at 3pm GMT, with cyber-chancers quick to register valuable domains and link them to lucrative Google-style pay-per-click advertising. 

One cyber-squatter in Milton Keynes registered every version he could of the LA Galaxy team name, hoping to cash in on people looking for more information on the Beckham move. 

"By 4.17pm he was the proud owner of lagalaxy.org, lagalaxy.info and lagalaxy.co.uk," said a statement by domain registrar NetNames. 

NetNames said that all the domain names now point to websites featuring pay-per-click adverts, and estimated that the squatter could make thousands from misdirected internet surfers.

"This is some of the fastest cyber-squatting I've ever seen," said Jonathan Robinson, chief operating officer at NetNames.

"David Beckham is a major international brand and there are clearly many people who have seen an opportunity to cash in."

Robinson explained that securing these domain names after Beckham's announcement was the "online equivalent of the first day of the Harrods sale" as opportunists fought for the web rights to every single permutation.

Celebrities need to protect themselves from cyber-squatters, he added, because the potential damage to a celebrity's brand from a malicious registration is "untold".

"Just imagine if one of Beckham's sponsors finds that his most popular 'unofficial' website takes surfers to a rival brand," said Robinson.

"A domain name is easy to secure in the first place, but retrieving it from a cyber-squatter is easier said than done."