Like real-world theft, the hijacking of an Internet address can happen quickly and with little warning.New York computer consultant Ronen Inowlocki knows firsthand. In July, a thief connived to take control of the yyy.com address that Mr. Inowlocki has owned for years. Mr. Inowlocki is still fighting to get it back, and can’t access the “@yyy.com” email addresses he had used to communicate with clients. Meanwhile, the thief shifted the Internet address, also known as a domain, to a service in Germany and lists a mailing address in Iceland as his contact info.Experts say the theft of Internet domain names occurs every day. The thieves — taking advantage of companies that have either let down their guard or failed to take adequate precautions — are often after financial gain, since short or memorable domains can be sold for millions of dollars and generate Web traffic and online-advertising revenue. Some domain hijackers are former employees or others looking to extract payments or take revenge.
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