How Cybersquatters Are Cashing In on the 2024 Election

Imagine if you’d decided to purchase domains for a few dollars that were now worth thousands. That’s the situation Jeremy Green Eche, a trademark lawyer in New York, finds himself in today. He purchased HarrisWalz.com way back in 2020 for less than $10. He sold it for $15K — a profit of over 149,000%.

It’s not the first time Eche has achieved these types of profits and highlights how cybersquatters can benefit from all types of political situations.

Cybersquatters: Purchasing and Selling Without Endorsing

Eche is what’s known as a cybersquatter — someone who buys domains with famous names, brands, or other notable words or phrases included. The plan is that someone, later down the line, will pay good money for that domain. As the initial domain purchases are normally inexpensive, this can represent a huge profit for cybersquatters.

Because cybersquatters normally buy dozens or hundreds of domains at a time, they’re not seen as endorsing particular brands. Or, in this case, political parties. They’re simply in it for the money. Eche has done this before: back in 2016, Eche was already the owner of ClintonKaine.com and hoped to sell it to the Hillary Clinton campaign. However, they only offered $2K. An anonymous Trump supporter bought the site for $15K and used the site to post anti-Clinton updates.

This time around, the site has also been purchased by an anonymous buyer — but one who supports Harris and doesn’t want to see a repeat of that situation. The buyer calls themselves a “domain protector” and is guaranteeing that the site can’t be used for negative propaganda. The new owner now also has access to HarrisSpritzker.com, HarrisBennet.com, and more. It’s a political grab-bag of domains covering multiple bases in case the democratic campaign runners change again.

How Much Can Political Domains Go For?

The $15K paid for HarrisWalz.com is high but could be worth it for the buyer if the democratic election campaign is successful. They may even be able to sell it to another interested party for a higher price. Of course, if the campaign fails, that site becomes virtually worthless except to domain collectors.

Eche also has many other politically-themed domains including several with the names of prominent governors and senators. He’s currently asking $3,400 for each of these. As the previously profitable ClintonKaine.com domain expired, he’s even considering buying that one back.

The trademark attorney told Business Insider that he’s spent around $500 in total buying up domains related to this election cycle. That’s $2,500 less than in 2016 and he’s already made $15K.

Presidential candidates aren’t the only names driving expensive domain sales, though. Back in 2014, an American health firm purchased Medicare.com for $4.8 million. It highlights just how far companies are willing to go to leverage political terms for profit.

Is It Worth Investing in Future Potential Political Domains?

Of course, every time someone purchases a domain name with famous names, they’re taking a gamble. There are no guarantees that those names will be sought after in years to come. After all, as the 2024 election cycle has shown, surprising things happen in politics all the time. Who could have predicted that Biden would step back and Harris would be the primary candidate?

Eche has a history of buying domains that seem to “predict” political outcomes, however, it’s worth remembering that he’s also bought domains with numerous other potential candidate names. He’s benefited from a combination of political research and luck. Most cybersquatters would probably say the same — a large factor in whether you get a big payday is good fortune.

For those who have spare money put aside to buy inexpensive domains, cybersquatting can represent a potential profit of thousands. However, just remember that Eche didn’t get any choice over which party bought his domains and how much they paid. Political domain buying can be profitable but you can’t rely on it as an endorsement technique.

Remember, always buy your domains from a trusted registrar. Look at online reviews and the services they provide before committing. And, if you are invested in buying up politically-themed domains, just remember that American politics is always unpredictable.