CADNA (The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse) strongly supports the Anti-Phishing Consumer Protection Act (APCPA) introduced today by Senator Olympia Snowe and sponsored by Bill Nelson (Senator). CADNA is comprised of ten globally recognised brand name companies.

Upon the introduction of the bill, Josh Bourne the President of CADNA stated “The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse applauds Senator Snowe for sponsoring this timely and necessary legislation to protect consumers and businesses alike from the latest batch of fraudulent and deceptive Internet practices. The members of CADNA look forward to working with Senator Snowe and her cosponsors on the Senate Commerce Committee to advance legislation to eliminate online practices that victimise consumers and destroy the public trust that is essential to a safe, secure and vibrant Internet economy.” The Counsel for Dell Inc Allison McDade , a founding member of CADNA said “Dell appreciates Senator Snowe’s attention to this important consumer issue. We have spent significant time, effort, and money protecting our own customers from the deception and confusion caused by these practices. Dell looks forward to working with its fellow CADNA members and the bill’s cosponsors to address this growing concern for consumers and businesses alike.”

The main aim of the new act is to protect consumers from Phishing, a form of identity theft. Involving consumers are tricked into divulging personal information to anonymous identity thieves who pretend to be well known brands to gain consumers trust. Phishing causes great damage to individuals and companies alike by emptying bank accounts, ruining credit histories and stealing identities. Additionally they ruin the reputations of the companies whose brand names are being used fraudulently, via spoof websites or email messages. The ACPCA also addresses the practice of using deceptive web site domains, which appear to be almost identical to well known businesses. These may be used to facilitate spam attacks, phishing attempts or to divert consumers from their intended destination to other sites selling questionable goods or services.

Owners of commercial websites must provide true and accurate contact information for each domain name that they register, this is so consumers and other businesses can identify who they are dealing with in online transactions. The bill further prohibits the “shielding” or “privacy” services that can provide a veil of anonymity for those businesses that are violating the law. The bill requires a registrar to reveal the contact information of registrants that are known (and have received notification) that they are potentially involved in fraudulent activity. The Federal Trade Commission, Law enforcement authorities and businesses that are harmed by deceptive and fraudulent practices all need to have access to web site registrant’s information. This is needed to enforce the law, protect consumers and allow businesses to protect their brands online. CADNA’s legislative counsel, Paul Martino, a partner at Alston & Bird LLP and former Senate Commerce Committee counsel, remarked, “Senator Snowe’s bill will protect unsuspecting consumers who are exploited by online identity thieves that use the cover of a ‘spoofed’ brand name. The bill will draw strong bipartisan support in the Senate Commerce Committee, which has consistently considered and passed online consumer protection legislation.”