The domain F45.com is stolen, and it’s an asset that belongs to a famous photographer, Rolfe Horn.
Strangely, it was recently involved in a UDRP case filed by an Australian fitness company, F45 Training Pty Ltd, that tried to acquire it from the current registrant, for $15,000 dollars.
The only snag: the seller, Oleksandar Shapoval of Ukraine, is a serial domain name hijacker, stealing domain names and attempting to resell them.
For years, Oleksandar Shapoval – not necessarily his real name – has been using these techniques to hijack domains:
- Registering domains that dropped, which control existing domains he’s after.
- Taking advantage of email provider vulnerabilities and leaked password lists; he often resets Earthlink passwords.
- Social engineering.
For engaging in these illegal activities, Oleksandar Shapoval has been banned from various domain forums and domain selling venues.
F45.com was stolen from its owner, photographer Rolfe Horn, two years ago. Mr Horn had been using F45.com to showcase his photography portfolio, as seen at Archive.org.
By September 2015, the domain had been stolen by the Ukrainian criminal, who is using “electrousd@gmail.com” for registration purposes.
Other domains that are stolen, currently in Sapoval’s possession, include the following:
abcmusic.com
bodyaffair.com
lihli.com
mjda.com
tvmusic.com
These domains were stolen by hijacking the controlling email addresses, and by using email reset vulnerabilities.
The list of stolen domains that Oleksandar Shapoval has handled over the years is extensive. He has attempted to sell, or has sold, the following domains:
eVirtual.com
Seductions.com
4G.org
dism.com
cooler.net
PCDC.COM
AHG.NET
JMBI.COM
WIYC.COM
FPDC.COM
CCDI.COM
i1i.com
fcni.com
NNOT.net
ALEXANDR.net
Some of these stolen domains were resold for thousands of dollars, making a nice profit for the thief.
In the case of F45.com, the exchange between the potential buyer / Complainant, and the seller / thief, even confused the WIPO panelist.
