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Defending Self In a Case of On-Line Identity Theft?
SoccerDad41 writes "I am a systems administrator for an Indiana-based bricks-n-clicks retailer currently suspended because an unscrupulous typosquatter stole my name and registration information for his/her fraudulent domain registration. My company hired a third party service to protect their trademark by identifying and terminating infringing web sites. The third party identified a domain name, performed a WhoIs lookup & issued a complaint in compliance within ICANN's rules. This was presumably all reported back to our Legal department and it was noticed that the name on the domain registration matched mine. I have a locally uncommon ethnic last name so an immediate connection to me was made & although I protested my absolute innocence in the matter, I have been suspended on grounds of violating non-compete policies pending proof that it isn't me. The fraudulent domain registration was made with a different registrar (let's call them Registrar B) than the one my company uses (let's call them Registrar A). The public parts of the registration information at Registrar B match pretty exactly those of my legitimate domain registrations at Registrar A, including Registrar A's mailing address and phone number. The only things left out in the mailing address are the reference to a domain name and ATTN: Registrar A. Of course the anonymized email address differs as well. Surely I'm not the first in the Slashdot community to find myself in this situation. I'd like to avoid incurring the cost of a lawyer but I am intent on maintaining my good name and continued employment. What are my rights and responsibilities in this matter? What is my best course of action? How did you resolve this issue? How can I prove it's not me?"
See a lawyer.
Say it wasn't you.
I am sorry you are in this unfortunate situation. However, you have begged the question, and ACCEPTED AS FACT that they presume you guilty and that YOU MUST PROVE YOUR INNOCENCE.
That's not how it works.
Please in writing request a meeting with your boss and the corporate counsel.
Explain simply these NONTECHNICAL FACTS:
1. You have done nothing to violate your terms of employment, your noncompete, or other agreements.
2. If the company has PROOF that YOU did it, it is THEIR responsibility to show it.
3. Until they do so, you want your job and pay FULLY reinstated.
Offer them a concession:
If they fear you MIGHT be a risk, they can PAY YOU, put you on a PAID BREAK until it is resolved.
Additionally ONCE they do so, you ARE WILLING to help them figure it out.
If they ask you a bunch of stupid questions like:
1. Why wouldn't you want to clear your name?
2. Why won't you volunteer information?
3. Can we search your home/hard drive/etc?
4. When did you stop beating your wife?
BE POLITE, BE RESPECTFUL, and tell them you ARE willing to be cooperative, but FIRST they must
restore the rights of yours they have trampled (job, pay, respect), and after that you will help them but
you will not give up your CIVIL or CONSTITUTIONALLY or LEGALLY protected rights to do so.
You don't need a lawyer for this unless they insist on not giving you job/pay back.
In that case, hire a lawyer and you'll be happy to find many who will take a case like this on contingency.
Innocent until proven guilty.
Never give up your right to be innocent by begging the question of "But why am I suddenly guilty."
E
Grab a Nolo book or two (check your library, or www.nolo.com), file a "pro se" lawsuit against John Does 1-20, and via that lawsuit subpoena the domain name registrar. Get everything they have, IP address(es) used to register the domain (i.e., load the website), etc. Get records from wherever the site was hosted. Get ISP records corresponding to the IP addresses in use by the person/people who registere the domain name / set up the website. Etc. Document, document, document. Then summarize it in a memo to your employer, citing to the documents you've uncovered (include them as labeled exhibits, e.g., "As you can see from the Billing Information Statement ("Billing"), attached hereto as Exhibit A...")
And then, as long as you're already wet, go swimming. If you can come close to identifying these asshats, amend the complaint and sue 'em. (Service might be tricky, but if you can satisfy the diligence requirement, most jurisdictions will allow substitute service by publication. Then go for the default judgment... Satisfying it will likely be impossible, but having a civil judgment in your favor can't hurt your attempts to remain employed and clear your name.)
Disclaimer, I am a lawyer, but I am not licensed in Indiana, this is not legal advice, this does not create an attorney-client relationship.
geek. lawyer.
GET A LAWYER.
Any further action on your part may be detrimental otherwise.
better check your calculations....
weight of lawyer: 200 lbs
weight of lawyer: 2,916.67 troy ounces
price of gold : $1,246.72 USD per troy ounce
worth of lawyer : $3,636,270.82 USD
All lawyers are assholes until you need one.
Your id was stolen by someone to create a website that infringes on the trademark for a company that you work for? First, it's odd that somebody would steal your identity for the purpose of creating a website. But secondly, the website is one that infringes on the trademark for your company. And then your company actively looks for violations on this stuff? I think somebody wanted you fired. Possibly it is your own company - after all, they didn't need much 'proof' to suspend you, did they? If your company is big enough to have a legal dept, it seems they can afford to be (and should be) a little more thorough. Hire a lawyer.
Identify yourself and take control of the domain name.
This seems rather risky without legal consultation. It could be used to further incriminate you.
...that it wasn't you? Seriously, folks: Maybe this individual is guilty as charged, and he's asking us about ways to defend his actions, or how to create a web of plausible deniability. Think about it: If this situation really happened to a truly innocent party, with looming consequences of job loss (especially in the current economy), don't you think said party would seek the advice of counsel before airing out his laundry on /.?
I know some of us are always willing to lend a hand to a fellow geek, but sometimes I have to shake my head at how quickly some of you jump to defend an individual who claims to be innocent, framed, whatever.
Consulting a lawyer is the only sensible thing to do at this point. Of course if you really want to go out in a blaze of irony, you could also register another domain in the head of HR's name or the CEO's name just as was done to you. :D
Strat
Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
I'd like to avoid incurring the cost of a lawyer but I am intent on maintaining my good name and continued employment.
Right...so let me get this straight: You stand a good chance of losing your job, affecting your life and your family's well-being, and you're too cheap to hire a lawyer? I'm sorry, but you really have your priorities out of whack if you think posting your woes on /. is time well spent.
The lawyer will tell you basically that, unlike criminal cases, where you have to be shown to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, that in civil matters, the indicators of your innocence have to be more than the indicators of your guilt.
It's called "the balance of probabilities." So far, the balance of the probabilities, based on the "evidence", is all in their favour.
You've already told them you didn't do it. Your best option now, unless you live in a jurisdiction that isn't "at will", is to conserve your resources while you look for another job. If this were a small enough business that the people around you would find it totally out of character for you to do this, you wouldn't be in this situation right now - they would have believed you. As it is, they don't, and worse, they can't afford to back down at this point.
Pick your fights. You've told them you didn't do it - now tell them you're not comfortable working for a place that calls you a liar and you want to discuss a severance package that includes an agreement that you were RIF'ed if anyone should ask for references. Because even if you prove you didn't do it, your job there is history, and at some level you know this is true. Besides, do you want to work for a place that calls you a liar and a crook?
I'm not being mean here, even though the tone might come across as such - it's because you really need a bucket of water (or a brick) to the face to make you realize that you're in a no-win situation. It's the same "wake up and smell the coffee" advice I'd give to my closest friends if they were in the same situation. It sucks, but so does life in general. We can't change that, but we can change how we react to it. We can either stew on it, and let it turn into acid that eats through our guts and permeates our life and our personality, or we can move on.
We all know people who, a decade later, still won't stop talking about someone who screwed them over at EVERY occasion. Try it - go on a dinner date with someone who's divorced - sometimes it's like their ex is sitting at the table with you ... you want to say "you're obviously not over them. Maybe you two should get back together if you like arguing about each others actions so much. Call me when you're really single."
This is the same situation. Nobody, not a lawyer, not anyone on slashdot, can change what's happened. What we can do is give you the encouragement to help you deal with the situation in the most efficient, least destructive, way, both professionally and personally, and help you rebuild. The lawyer won't do that - their first interest is $$$. Before it's finished, this case will cost you a minimum of $20k, and probably a lot more.
If you can handle the legal stuff yourself, my advice would be a bit different, but not by much. Some things it's just best to agree to disagree, tell them that you've thought about it, and when they find the culprit, you'd like to be kept in the loop, that you won't use that info to hold them responsible, and if there's anything you can do to help, just call, and that you understand they're only trying to protect their business and the other employees, and then move on. You'll keep your respect and earn theirs. It's a small world. You never know, they may call back in a few years with good news - you should keep that door open.
I've had bosses who are dicks - even after I've quit, I tell them that if there's a problem, call me. They might be too proud to admit they made a mistake, but the smarter ones are not too proud to take my advice when they're stuck, and I'm not too proud to refuse to help them.
Problem: His company now sees him as a liability. Anything he does with this domain can backfire ten times. He claims nothing to do with the domain, so he should have nothing to do with it at all.
DO NOT DO ANYTHING RIGHT NOW BUT GET A LAWYER!
http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/
If he terminates, that is proof in the company's eyes that he registered it in the first place. Then he'll be handed a little box to put his stuff in, and get walked to the door.