Fraud on the Internet: Already 5000 websites had to be deleted

When branded articles are offered at sensationally low prices on the Internet, caution is advised. White-collar crime or fraud on the internet is not new, but it increased sharply in 2017. In 2016, SWITCH deleted around 700 web addresses of online stores with a .ch extension. By August 2017, this figure had already risen to over 5,000. Michael Hausding, domain name abuse security expert and member of the 14-strong SWITCH-CERT team of security experts, explains: "Thanks to close cooperation with the authorities and improved processes, we were able to take 4,500 fraudulent .ch webshops off the net in August 2017 alone as part of a concentrated action that sought to extract money from internet users' pockets or obtain credit card data. With this action, we are ahead of other domain endings such as .com. We want Swiss Internet users to continue to be able to assume the high security and trustworthiness of .ch web addresses."

Danger on the Internet

Internet users are exposed to several dangers when visiting fraudulent websites: they give their credit card information, e-mail and postal addresses to criminal organizations and receive either inferior goods or no goods at all after payment has been made.

Package of measures to protect against fraud on the Internet

In order to protect Internet users of .ch websites even more effectively against dangers on the Internet, the Foundation has intensified its cooperation with the Federal Office of Police (fedpol) and other Swiss authorities and automated the processes to support the authorities. In addition, the security experts have five tips for safe shopping on the Internet.

Procedure in the event of deletion - close cooperation with authorities

If a Swiss authority (e.g. fedpol, MELANI, Comlot, ESBK, NDB, SECO, Swissmedic) comes across a .ch website in the course of its activities whose content is potentially illegal, it attempts to contact the holder of the .ch domain name. To do so, it requires a Swiss contact address. If the domain name holder has entered an incorrect address or an address abroad in SWITCH's database, the authority contacts SWITCH. The foundation requests the holder to provide a valid address in Switzerland within 30 days. If this deadline passes unused, the domain name is deleted. This makes the fraudulent website no longer accessible on the Internet. This procedure is based on the Ordinance on Internet Domains (VID) of the Swiss Confederation.

Protection of the safest address in Europe

SWITCH's security experts have been very active and successful in combating malware and phishing for years. As a result, .ch has become the most secure domain extension in Europe, according to the statement. In addition, the "Safer Internet" initiative was launched together with partners from the Swiss Internet industry. SWITCH is also taking decisive action in the area of white-collar crime, together with the Swiss authorities. In each case, the goal is the same: to protect Swiss Internet users from danger as best as possible.

More information: www.switch.ch