Domain registrar Namecheap on Wednesday said it would no longer be accepting any new domain applications including the words “coronavirus,” “covid,” and “vaccine,” among other versions of words and phrases alluding to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The measure is to prevent abuse and fraud from sites trying to hawk fake products and misinformation and otherwise capitalize on the ongoing global health crisis.
“There are always those who try to take advantage of crisis situations by carrying out acts of fraud. In response, we are actively working with authorities to both proactively prevent, and take down, any fraudulent or abusive domains or websites related to COVID-19,” the company writes in its statement, which it emailed to customers earlier today. “This includes banning certain terms such as ‘coronavirus,’ ‘covid,’ and ‘vaccine’ from our domain search tool so they cannot be purchased and used for abuse.”
Namecheap says legitimate companies and website owners can apply for a domain name containing one of the now-banned words by going through its support team, which “will be available to review and register it for you manually upon your request.”
Attorney General James’ focus on coronavirus-related scams comes as the US Department of Justice announced on Friday a concerted effort to prioritize the prosecution of coronavirus-related crimes. The agency filed its first charges two days later, against the owners of a website claiming selling fake COVID-19 vaccine kits.
