Trump has 3,643 websites that range from TrumpEmpire.com to TrumpFraud.org

[EC]

I'm chalking this up in Trump's plus column, even if no one else does. We constantly complain about pols being caught out by the internet - THIS is how you handle that. It's CNN, so the excerpt carries enough info that you don't have to click on the link to get most of the details. Bias included for free.

Donald Trump has a vast online portfolio of domain names -- digital addresses that foreshadowed his political career, business projects and accusations of unethical behavior.

Before he reached the White House, Trump's company had laid claim to at least 3,643 website domains, according to internet records gathered by CNNMoney.

The buying spree continued as he ran for president. Trump bought 93 of them after he launched his presidential campaign.

One was TrumpEmpire.com. That domain had belonged to a Mexican cybersquatter. Luis Jorge O'Brien Covarrubias is a civil engineer in Guadalajara, Mexico. He bought TrumpEmpire for $10 in April 2015 hoping that someday he'd be able to cash in on the property. When no deal came around, he didn't bother to renew it.

O'Brien didn't know that Trump had snapped it up in June 2016 until he was told by CNNMoney.

Now O'Brien wishes he would have kept the domain out of Trump's hands.

"What did I do?" he lamented. "He's rude to people. He mistreats everyone. Now he has an empire -- in every meaning of the word."

CNNMoney investigated 20 years of internet records using DomainTools, which tracks registrations and transfers. Some are obvious choices he acquired long ago, like TrumpOrganization.com and TrumpBuilding.org.

More: http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/20/technology/trump-websites/index.html

[jmyrlefuller]

In the months before he launched Trump Network in 2009, he acquired TrumpMultiLevelMarketing.com, TrumpNetworkFraud.com, TrumpNetworkPyramidScheme.com, TrumpNetworkPonziScheme.com and 15 similar iterations. He sold the business in 2012.

"Whoever bought those domains was already thinking those allegations might be raised. Most reputable organizations do not go out and buy these kinds of websites.

In other words, Trump was deliberately setting up an illegal operation and cybersquatting to prevent anyone from exposing it.

This is not a plus.

[XenaLee]

In other words, Trump was deliberately setting up an illegal operation and cybersquatting to prevent anyone from exposing it.

This is not a plus.

Oooooh.....the land-grabbing (or in this case, website-grabbing) eeeeevil robber baron (no, not Barron, his son) strikes again, still and en perpetuity. 

I'm skeered.  We're all gonna die. 

(no sarc tag required, I presume)

[Suppressed]

Oooooh.....the land-grabbing (or in this case, website-grabbing) eeeeevil robber baron (no, not Barron, his son) strikes again, still and en perpetuity. 

I'm skeered.  We're all gonna die. 

(no sarc tag required, I presume)

@XenaLee

Did you miss @jmyrlefuller's point that it's the potential Ponzi scheme (not the cybersquatting) that's the issue?

[EC]

I'm more along the lines:

"He knows he's disliked and so removes a way of people making cheap shots." Forward planning. Not that that has been in much evidence so far - but it shows he can do it.

(I'll take what I can get)

[ABX]

This is absolutely normal for large companies and people in his position. One tries to simply control the message and a missed domain name can be devastating. Hell, I'm a nobody and own several dozen related to my businesses even though they aren't the official name, just to point back and keep someone else from grabbing them. Several I own are investments as a good domain, purchased for a few dollars per year, can reap a nice reward (in the thousands or more) if someone really wants it.

[ABX]

In other words, Trump was deliberately setting up an illegal operation and cybersquatting to prevent anyone from exposing it.

This is not a plus.

Those domains don't mean he is actually setting up an illegal operation like a pyramid scheme, what he is doing is controlling the search results if someone searches those terms versus letting someone else get them.

He has had MLM businesses(sic) licensed under his name before so this is a normal practice. If you look up most of the big MLMs right now (Thrive, Amaway, etc), you'll find similar sites for all of them that actually promote their business to people who are searching to see if something is a scam.

Questionable, but not illegal.

[Wingnut]

This is absolutely normal for large companies and people in his position. One tries to simply control the message and a missed domain name can be devastating. Hell, I'm a nobody and own several dozen related to my businesses even though they aren't the official name, just to point back and keep someone else from grabbing them. Several I own are investments as a good domain, purchased for a few dollars per year, can reap a nice reward (in the thousands or more) if someone really wants it.

Here is a perfect example:  www.freedrepublic.com

[XenaLee]

@XenaLee

Did you miss @jmyrlefuller's point that it's the potential Ponzi scheme (not the cybersquatting) that's the issue?

Yeah....I missed it.  Still working on my first cup of java and had to jump into the shower.  I'll read it now.

[XenaLee]

In other words, Trump was deliberately setting up an illegal operation and cybersquatting to prevent anyone from exposing it.

This is not a plus.

Illegal, how, exactly?   What law did it actually (not in one's imagination) break?  I'm curious.

[XenaLee]

Those domains don't mean he is actually setting up an illegal operation like a pyramid scheme, what he is doing is controlling the search results if someone searches those terms versus letting someone else get them.

He has had MLM businesses(sic) licensed under his name before so this is a normal practice. If you look up most of the big MLMs right now (Thrive, Amaway, etc), you'll find similar sites for all of them that actually promote their business to people who are searching to see if something is a scam.

Questionable, but not illegal.

In other words.... this article is much ado about nada.   This crap is really getting tedious.  And it's only the first month.   

[jmyrlefuller]

Illegal, how, exactly?   What law did it actually (not in one's imagination) break?  I'm curious.

For one, Trump knew what he was doing could be interpreted as a Ponzi scheme or a pyramid scheme, both of which are not legal (see: Bernie Madoff). The fact that he cybersquatted those domains is enough proof that he knew this. This is important, as he cannot plead ignorance.

[ABX]

In other words.... this article is much ado about nada.   This crap is really getting tedious.  And it's only the first month.   

Not a nothing story, you can learn something from any story. It isn't a scandal, but one can learn how businesses and celebrities operate and what they must do in terms of the web.

[ABX]

Here is a perfect example:  www.freedrepublic.com

Now who would do a thing like that? 

[Wingnut]

Now who would do a thing like that? 

 

 

[bolobaby]

In other words, Trump was deliberately setting up an illegal operation and cybersquatting to prevent anyone from exposing it.

This is not a plus.

Incorrect. As an IT executive, I've worked at companies that bought every single domain name related to there trademark name, just to get ahead of the bullcrap. From [companyname]fraud.com to [ceoname]sucks.com.

It's normal.

[jmyrlefuller]

Incorrect. As an IT executive, I've worked at companies that bought every single domain name related to there trademark name, just to get ahead of the bullcrap. From [companyname]fraud.com to [ceoname]sucks.com.

It's normal.

Not when you're registering references to specific crimes related to those businesses. Sure, SOP is for something vague like [soandso]sucks to get registered to avoid the other cybersquatters of the world.

But in this case, the fact that Trump would register these domains, these SPECIFIC domains, is an acknowledgement that he knew the Trump network's operations were at least close enough to a pyramid scheme or a Ponzi scheme (again, both illegal) that it would warrant scrutiny that he sought to avoid by cybersquatting on those domains. It is a de facto admission of guilt.

[Norm Lenhart]

This is standard practice for anyone protecting a brand. also standard practice for any pol with a clue of how the internet works.

[Oceander]

Trump would be an utter fool if he didn't have all of these domain names sewn up.  It would be brand-name catastrophe if someone were to get a trump-based domain name and use it to slam him.  In fact, I'm surprised that he has so few. 

[Norm Lenhart]

Trump would be an utter fool if he didn't have all of these domain names sewn up.  It would be brand-name catastrophe if someone were to get a trump-based domain name and use it to slam him.  In fact, I'm surprised that he has so few.

Yup We did exactly this back in 1997 with Off-Road.com to keep  the eco nazis from using it them against us. Good thing we did too. It's a long  time practice.