First Ever Criminal Arrest For Domain Name Theft

Domain Name News writes "Until recently, there hasn't been a case of a domain theft where the thief was caught and arrested. However, on July 30th, Daniel Goncalves was arrested at his home in Union, New Jersey and charged in a landmark case, the first criminal arrest for domain name theft in the United States. 'Cases of domain name theft have not typically involved a criminal prosecution because of the complexities, financial restraints and sheer time and energy involved. If a domain name is stolen, the victim of the crime in most cases would need experience with the technical and legal intricacies associated with the domain name system. To move the case forward, they would also need a law enforcement professional who understands the case or is willing to take the time to learn. For example, the Angels told us that in their case they called their local law enforcement in Florida who sent a uniformed officer in a squad car to their home. The first thing you can imagine the officer asked was, "What's a domain?"'"

Comments

What he actually did

[fiannaFailMan]

Quoth TFA:

Daniel Goncalves, the 25 year old law firm computer technician arrested on Thursday, reportedly hacked in to the Angelâ(TM)s AOL email account, used that information to retrieve the login details for the P2P.com from the Godaddy.com domain account. Goncalves performed an internal âoedomain pushâ transfer,which in effect transfered the domain name to another Godaddy account that he owned. Goncalves reportedly also falsified Paypal.com transaction records in an attempt to cover his trail and provide evidence that made it appear that he purchased the domain name for $900 from the Angels. The domain was listed in the name of Daniel Louvado during this time period (a bogus name consisting of Goncalves first name and his fiances last name).

In late 2006, Goncalves put the domain name P2P.com up for sale on eBay.com and on September 24, 2006 the eBay.com auction for the domain P2P.com closed in the amount of $111,000.

DNN?

[neonprimetime]

Is anybody else in shock that there is actually a website devoted entirely to Domain Name News?

Obligatory grammar Nazism

[bwintx]

Several references to "Angel's" in TFA should be "Angels'," meaning the possessive form of the plural proper noun Angels.

So much for my positive karma... [sigh]

Re:Oh, Those Dumb Police Officers!

[Atlantis-Rising]

Robert Peel would disagree:

Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.

Re:Rebuttal

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it bad that I have no idea what a P90X is?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P90X

Re:Come on...

[syousef]

I get it! Cops are all dumb, lazy, and technically illiterate!

They won't hire you if you're too smart.

No I'm not trolling I'm serious:
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_56314.html
http://northernmuckraker.blogspot.com/2008/08/too-smart-to-be-cop.html
http://irradiatedcat.blogspot.com/2008/06/too-smart-to-be-cop.html
http://www.thepostroad.com/news/2000/20000912.new.london.pd.robert.jordan.html

Re:Oh, Those Dumb Police Officers!

[Anonymous Coward]

Police mortality rates are not even among the top ten for most dangerous jobs in America. Loggers, Pilots, Fishermen, Steel Workers, Garbage Men, Farmers, Roofers, Electricians, Truck Drivers, and Taxi Drivers all have a higher death rate by at least THREE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE.

Next time you see your local Garbage Collector, be sure to tell them THANK YOU for doing the job they do.

Re:Why we need to break the govt's monopoly

[pnewhook]

Having a policy like loser pays legal bills of both sides would go a long way to making the court system fair. Right now its often richest guy wins because he can outlast the poor guy.

Re:Come on...

[Cramer]

If what I've read is true, he commited several crimes... breaking into the AOL account (computer trespass) to gain access to the godaddy account (computer trespass, fraud, wire fraud, ...), creating false transactions to cloud the picture and give the false impression that the domain was bought (fraud, banking fraud, CC fraud, ...) -- not sure what was involved there, and then sold the stolen property on ebay for a huge profit. This is indeed a matter for criminal court.

Re:Where's the FBI?

[Cramer]

Actually, that was a trademark case. And Apple sued Cisco (aka Linksys) who did not have a product on the market using the iPhone trademark.

Re:Oh, Those Dumb Police Officers!

[Artifex]

If someone is breaking into my home at 2am, they better hope they can run faster than buckshot. The call is for the cops or coroner to come clean up the mess.

And then the cop will arrest you for manslaughter. You do realize that self defense requires the application of only that amount of force necessary?

I live in Texas. If I fear for my life or am afraid for my property, pretty much I can use whatever force is necessary to make the bad man go away.

(Yes, some terrible abuses of castle laws have happened. Doesn't mean they don't exist)

Re:Sorry brief rant -- 'loser pays' is a terrible

[pnewhook]

"Loser pays" solves nothing. It was an idea created by those who benefit from the current system and wanted to make it even more lopsided, sold as a reform to help make the courts "fair." It's anything but.

I disagree

If I was poor and had to pay legal bills to a lawyer upfront, I'd probably not even try even if I knew I was right as either I couldn't afford a good lawyer or maybe if I was lucky an inexperienced one.

If I knew I was right and the loser pays, I'd get a good laywer and the playing field is now even.