Name stolen, what should I do?

  • angelopenna94 · Member ·

    Hello everyone

    I recently wanted to buy a domain with my full name. There is already a site which was made with WordPress I found out after research. It’s the following URL:

    https://angelopenna.com/

    So what’s funny about it is, that this website is completely pointless and for me it’s an insult. I wanted to use my full name and now I have to use a different one. Isn’t there a possibility to report the author of this website?

    Angelo Penna

  • darciemg · Staff ·

    The site in question is not hosted on WordPress.com servers nor was the domain bought at WordPress.com, and so WordPress.com has no control over the content on that site or the domain ownership.

    They only host sites that have “wordpress.com” in their URL or say “Blog at WordPress.com” on the site. They have no control over sites that say “Powered by WordPress.org.” Those sites use the open source WordPress software and aren’t hosted by WordPress.com, so you should contact the appropriate web host with complaints.

    See hosting information on that site here: https://www.whois.com/whois/angelopenna.com

    You’ll want to confront the host of that site or registrar with your complaints. My guess is you or another person of the same name owned the domain and it expired, then this domain squatter bought it.

  • kokkieh · Staff ·

    Hi there,

    The fact that your name is Angelo Penna does not automatically give you the right to the domain name, angelopenna.com. Literally anyone has the right to register that domain and use it for whatever purpose they want.

    So while you can try contacting the registrar where that domain is registered, you’ll really only be wasting your time. There are very clear regulations on the web that determine how domain ownership works, and having a legal name that matches a particular domain does not give you any ownership claim over the domain.

    If you want a domain that matches your name there are many other options you can try to register, like angelopenna.blog, angelopenna.org, .net, .page, or hundreds more.

    You can see all the options we offer on WordPress.com specifically here:

    Domain Pricing and Available TLDs

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