Identity Theft in the Digital Age: Protecting Your Name, Reputation and Online Identity

Written by Editor

Disclaimer: This article is for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Identity theft, domain-name disputes, intellectual property, trade marks, fraud, data protection and passing-off claims can involve complex questions of fact and law. Anyone concerned that their name, identity, business reputation or intellectual property is being misused should consider obtaining advice from a solicitor or suitably qualified intellectual property professional.

When Someone Else Uses Your Name Online: Domains, AI Websites, Impersonation, Cybersquatting and the Law

Our names are increasingly part of our digital identities.

For entrepreneurs, writers, consultants, designers, influencers, professionals and business owners, a personal name may also become a commercial identity. It can appear on websites, articles, search engines, social-media profiles, professional directories, published work and business correspondence.

This creates a modern problem: what happens when somebody else registers a domain consisting of your first and last name?

More concerningly, what happens if they then create a website under that name, offer services similar to yours, use artificial intelligence to generate content that appears consistent with your professional activities, display a registered trade mark symbol, or begin sending emails from addresses associated with the domain?

The answer depends on exactly what is being done.

Simply registering another person’s name as a domain is not automatically identity theft. However, the surrounding behaviour may potentially raise issues involving cybersquatting, passing off, trade mark infringement, data protection, fraud, intellectual property rights and impersonation.

What Is Identity Theft?

The Information Commissioner’s Office describes identity theft as occurring where personal information such as a person’s name, date of birth or address is stolen and used by someone else to impersonate them. Identity theft can subsequently lead to identity fraud.

There is therefore an important distinction between someone merely possessing the same or a similar name and somebody deliberately creating the impression that they are you.

The risk becomes considerably more serious when a website, email address or online account is designed in such a way that customers, businesses or members of the public could reasonably believe that they are communicating with the genuine individual.

What If Someone Registers Your First and Last Name as a Domain?

Domain names generally operate on a first-come, first-served registration system. Registering a domain does not, by itself, establish ownership of every intellectual property right associated with the words contained within it.

The UK Intellectual Property Office specifically warns that registering a domain does not automatically mean that the registrant has corresponding trade mark rights. It also points people towards Nominet’s dispute-resolution procedure where UK domain registrations are considered unlawful or malicious.

This distinction is important.

A person could potentially register:

firstname-lastname.co.uk without necessarily breaking the law merely because another person has that name.

The situation can become very different, however, where evidence suggests that the domain was registered:

Because of another person’s established reputation;
To divert their customers or website visitors;
To imitate an existing professional identity;
To damage their reputation;
To obtain money from people who believe they are dealing with the genuine individual;
To pressure the genuine person into purchasing the domain;
Or to exploit their established goodwill.

Those circumstances may potentially point towards cybersquatting or an abusive domain registration.

What Is Cybersquatting?

Cybersquatting commonly involves registering a domain corresponding to another person’s established name or trade mark with the intention of exploiting its value or reputation.

For .uk domains, Nominet operates a Dispute Resolution Service. Since July 2026, new DRS cases have been administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation on Nominet’s behalf. The service exists specifically to resolve disputes concerning .uk domain registrations without necessarily requiring full court proceedings.

For many generic international domains such as .com, the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) may apply. ICANN explains that trade mark owners may be able to challenge abusive or bad-faith domain registrations through an approved dispute-resolution provider.

However, merely sharing somebody’s name does not automatically entitle a person to have a domain transferred.

Evidence matters.

What If the Website Copies the Services You Provide?

This is where matters can become considerably more complicated.

Imagine someone has built a professional reputation providing:

Content writing;
Marketing;
Consulting;
Website development;
Legal research;
Journalism;
Photography;
Training;
Or another specialist service.

Another person then registers their name as a domain and creates a website offering substantially similar services.

That does not automatically establish unlawful conduct. Businesses can legitimately provide competing services.

However, the central question becomes:

Could the public reasonably believe that the website belongs to, is connected with, or has been authorised by the established individual?

Where someone has built significant goodwill around a name, the common-law action of passing off may become relevant.

Passing off generally requires evidence of three elements:

Goodwill or reputation associated with the claimant;
A misrepresentation which causes or is likely to cause the public to believe that the defendant’s activities are connected with the claimant; and
Damage, or likely damage, resulting from that misrepresentation.

This can be particularly relevant to professionals who have traded under their personal name for many years.

AI Makes Digital Impersonation Easier

Artificial intelligence has dramatically reduced the amount of effort required to build websites.

A person can now register a domain and generate:

Website designs;
Professional biographies;
Articles;
Service descriptions;
Photographs or graphics;
Branding;
FAQs;
Marketing copy;
And entire business propositions within hours.

AI itself is not the problem.

The issue is how the technology is used.

If AI-generated material is intentionally designed to make visitors believe that a website represents another real individual, it could potentially form part of the evidence supporting claims relating to misrepresentation, passing off, fraud or other unlawful conduct.

AI does not provide immunity from existing law.

The Bigger Concern: Email Impersonation

Perhaps one of the most worrying consequences of someone controlling a domain containing another person’s name is email.

Someone controlling:

firstname-lastname.co.uk

Could potentially create addresses such as:

info@firstname-lastname.co.uk

hello@firstname-lastname.co.uk

firstname@firstname-lastname.co.uk

The genuine person would have no control over those accounts.

That creates an obvious reputational danger.

Recipients unfamiliar with the situation could reasonably assume that an email originates from the person whose name appears in the domain.

This is one reason professionals should monitor domains using their name even where the website itself initially appears harmless.

What If Emails Are Sent Pretending to Be You?

The legal position becomes much more serious where someone knowingly represents themselves as another person for dishonest purposes.

Section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006 covers fraud by false representation. A representation may be express or implied and can include representations transmitted electronically. The offence requires dishonesty together with an intention to make a gain or cause another person loss, or expose them to a risk of loss.

Therefore, if someone sends emails pretending to be another individual in order to obtain money, contracts, personal information or another financial advantage, the conduct may potentially amount to fraud depending upon the facts.

Someone who discovers such activity should preserve evidence immediately.

This could include:

Screenshots;
Copies of emails;
Complete email headers;
Dates and timestamps;
Website screenshots;
Domain-registration information;
Archived versions of webpages;
Invoices;
Payment requests;
Social-media profiles;
Complaints from confused customers;
And evidence demonstrating the genuine person’s earlier use of their name professionally.

Do not rely solely on the offending website remaining online.

Websites can disappear overnight.

What About Your Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property protection depends on what has actually been copied.

Copyright may potentially protect original material including:

Articles;
Photographs;
Illustrations;
Graphics;
Website copy;
Reports;
Certain designs;
And other original creative work.

A person’s name itself is not ordinarily protected simply because they wrote it first.

However, where a name functions as a brand or trading identity, trade mark law and passing off may become relevant.

Can You Trade Mark Your Own Name?

Potentially, yes.

The Trade Marks Act 1994 expressly recognises that a trade mark can consist of words, including personal names, provided the requirements for registration are satisfied.

A registered trade mark can provide considerably stronger protection for someone whose name has developed into a commercial brand.

According to GOV.UK, registering a trade mark can allow the owner to take action against unauthorised use of the protected brand and to use the ® symbol indicating registered status.

Trade mark protection is not unlimited.

Applications specify particular classes of goods or services, and the protection generally relates to those selected classes.

For example, someone using their name for marketing consultancy might require different protection from someone using the same name for clothing.

This is why professional trade mark advice may be worthwhile before filing an application.

What If Someone Else Tries to Trade Mark Your Name?

Finding that someone has applied to register your name as a trade mark does not necessarily mean that they automatically acquire unrestricted ownership over your name.

UK trade mark applications are examined and published, allowing other parties the opportunity to raise objections or oppose applications where appropriate.

Anyone discovering an application involving a name or brand with which they already have established rights should act promptly.

Historical evidence can become important, including:

Old websites;
Archived webpages;
Invoices;
Press articles;
Published work;
Company literature;
Advertisements;
Correspondence;
Social-media accounts;
Domain-registration history;
Customer testimonials;
And dated evidence showing earlier commercial use.

The longer someone has traded publicly under a distinctive name, the more important maintaining these historical records can become.

What Does the ® Symbol Actually Mean?

The ® symbol is significant.

It indicates that a trade mark is registered.

It should therefore not simply be used as decoration to make a business appear established or legally protected.

Section 95 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 makes it an offence knowingly, or where someone has reason to believe the representation is false, to falsely represent that a mark is a registered trade mark.

The legislation specifically covers words or symbols that imply registration.

Therefore, if somebody encounters a website displaying ®, the appropriate question is:

Where is the trade mark registered, who owns it, and what goods or services does the registration cover?

The UK Intellectual Property Office maintains a public trade mark database that can be searched.

A symbol on a website is not itself proof that the owner holds the UK registration being implied.

Data Protection May Also Be Relevant

If a website uses someone’s personal information, photograph, biography, contact details or other identifiable information, data-protection law may also become relevant depending upon the circumstances.

The ICO states that organisations must take reasonable steps to ensure personal information is not incorrect or misleading and must consider challenges to its accuracy.

Individuals also have data-protection rights which can include rights to:

Access personal information;
Have inaccurate information corrected;
Request erasure in certain circumstances;
Restrict processing in some situations;
And complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

However, the ICO makes clear that it does not itself investigate identity theft as such; identity fraud may need to be reported through appropriate fraud or police channels.

Cloning Versus Coincidence

It is important not to assume wrongdoing simply because two websites contain similar services.

The internet contains millions of businesses offering overlapping products and services.

The stronger evidence arises when several factors appear together.

For example:

Same personal name + similar professional services + similar biography + copied content + similar branding + misleading emails

would be considerably more concerning than simply:

Same name + unrelated website.

This is why accusations should be based on evidence rather than suspicion.

What Should You Do If You Discover a Website Using Your Identity?

A sensible response is to create an evidence trail before making contact.

1. Preserve evidence

Take dated screenshots of:

The homepage;
About page;
Services;
Footer;
Trade mark claims;
Legal pages;
Contact information;
Social-media links;
And any misleading statements.

2. Search the trade mark register

Check whether any claimed registered trade mark actually exists and identify its proprietor and classes.

3. Check the domain history

Record registration dates and available registrar information.

4. Preserve evidence of your earlier use

Gather archived webpages, invoices, correspondence, publications and other documents establishing your own history.

5. Monitor search engines

Look for search results that might cause confusion between the two identities.

6. Monitor email impersonation

Ask people who receive suspicious correspondence to preserve the original email, including its technical headers.

7. Consider a formal cease-and-desist letter

Where there is credible evidence of infringement or impersonation, professional legal advice should be considered before allegations are made.

8. Consider domain dispute procedures

For a .uk domain, Nominet’s DRS may be relevant.

For qualifying international domains, the UDRP may be relevant where trade mark rights and bad-faith registration can be established.

9. Report suspected fraud

Where somebody is actually using another person’s identity dishonestly for financial gain, the matter may need to be reported as suspected fraud.

Should People Buy the Domain Names Containing Their Own Names?

For professionals and entrepreneurs, defensive domain registration is increasingly worth considering.

Buying your own name as a domain can be inexpensive compared with the financial and reputational consequences of someone else obtaining it later.

Someone who intends to establish a public professional presence might consider securing combinations such as:

firstnamelastname.co.uk

firstnamelastname.com

Or another domain appropriate to their profession or geographical market.

You do not necessarily need to build a separate website on every domain.

Domains can simply redirect to your principal website.

However, it is neither practical nor necessary for most people to purchase every possible extension.

More importantly, owning the domain does not replace trade mark protection.

Domain registration, company-name registration, copyright and trade marks are separate areas of law.

A useful digital-protection strategy can therefore involve several layers:

Domain protection + trade mark protection + evidence of commercial use + secure email + reputation monitoring + intellectual property records.

Think of Your Name as a Digital Asset

People regularly protect their homes, cars, bank accounts and businesses.

Increasingly, they should think about protecting their digital identity as well.

For someone who has spent years developing a professional reputation, their personal name may have accumulated substantial goodwill.

That reputation can be damaged quickly if somebody else creates convincing websites, social-media accounts or email addresses which appear to belong to them.

AI has made website development faster and cheaper than ever before.

That brings extraordinary opportunities, but it also makes digital impersonation increasingly easy.

The law provides several potential remedies, but prevention remains easier than repairing reputational damage afterwards.

Before your name becomes commercially valuable, consider who controls the domains associated with it.

Because in the digital age, your name is not merely your identity; it may also be one of your most important business assets.