Domain Hijacking

Domain hijacking, also called domain theft, is the changing of a domain name's registration without the permission of its original registrant, often carried out by abusing privileges on domain hosting and registrar systems. Victims can suffer direct financial harm from an interrupted business or a compromised email account, and the hijacker can also use the stolen domain to run fraudulent look-alike websites for phishing, to distribute spam, or to spread malware that appears to come from a trusted source. Whatever the motive, the attack leaves the original owner dispossessed of a domain that may carry commercial, nonprofit or personal value.