Domain name theft - how it is done and steps to prevent it

Let's say you have a sudden insight on a name which is apt for your website and you wish to register this name as a domain name. You fire up your web browser and visit any one of the innumerable sites which help in checking if this particular domain name is available or not and to your absolute delight, nobody has yet registered your domain name.

So you decide to register it as soon as you can take time ... perhaps tomorrow because today you have an official deadline to meet. And the next day when you try to register the same domain name, you find to your dismay that it has already been snapped up by somebody else. How did this happen ? Was this a case of bad luck ? Maybe not. You may be the victim of a rogue company which has picked up your name after they intercepted your search the previous day. In effect the person or entity which has registered your domain name has stolen your domain research. The act of typing the domain name in the wrong place may allow these squatters to register the domain before you.

Jay Westerdal of domaintools.com has written an insightful piece on various precautions you can take while searching for your domain name prior to registering it. These steps help to a certain extent in mitigating domain name theft even before you have laid your hands on it.