List o' NRCC's Fraudulent Web Sites

"Standalone" Sites These sites are standalone domain names whose content is loaded into a frame, from the NRCC servers. So the sites LOOK like they're standalone, but they're really NRCC pages, appearing on a separate domain.

There are supposed to be 18, but I've only found 16, so far. If you know who the other two candidates may be, let me know in the comments and I'll update. [UPDATE: Benamery21 found the missing two candidates.] Two sites, of the 18 have been taken down. [UPDATE 2: there's a 19th candidate! Mike Parrish, H/T to Adam B]

Here's the fake site for Ann Kirkpatrick:

The Ann Kirkpatrick fake site, as it appears to the general public. The same page, with the NRCC's domain name blocked: When I use a script blocker to block the nrcc web site, this is what loads on the Ann Kirkpatrick site. You can see the URL that the site is trying to load when I mouse-over the script blocker's big peach square (which tells me what portion of the page is being blocked). In this case, the entirety of the content of the site is coming from the NRCC's servers. Here are the sites I've found so far Thanks to Kossacks Eman and Benamery21 in this diary, and a bit of google-fu. Ann Kirkpatrick http://annkirkpatrick.com/

Ron Barber http://contribute.ronbarber2014.com/

Kyrsten Sinema http://www.sinemaforcongress.com/

Domenic Reccia http://domenic-reccia.com/

Martha Robertson http://martha-robertson.com/

Alex Sink http://www.sinkforcongress2014.com

John Lewis http://johnlewis4congress.com/

Amanda Renteria http://renteria4congress.com/

John Tierney http://www.johntierney2014.com/

John Barrow http://contribute.johnbarrow2014.com/

Colling Peterson http://contribute.collinpeterson2014.com/

Matheson http://contribute.mathesonforutah.com/ (site down)

Mike Mcintyre http://contribute.mikemcintyre2014.com/ (site down)

Nick Rahall http://contribute.rahallforcongress.com/

Sean Eldridge http://seaneldridgeforcongress2014.com/

Nancy Pelosi http://nancypelosi2014.com/

UPDATE: The two missing candidates, thanks, again to Benamery21.

Annie Kuster http://anniekusterforcongress.com/

Carol Shea-Porter http://sheaporterforcongress.com/

Mike Parrish http://parrish4congress.com/

Donation Pages Anyone who clicks the HUGE DONATE BUTTON on one of those fake domains, will end up on a page on the NRCC's servers to collect their credit card info. The new page still looks like the candidate's page, including the candidate's logo.

It's here that things get interesting, because, under the reasonable person test, these pages could be confused with pages to donate to the actual candidate. This in turn means that taking money and personally identifiable info from those people runs into two different sets of laws: federally, the wire fraud laws, and in many states, anti-phishing laws.

1) They're presenting the site as belonging to one entity, fraudulently soliciting money in the guise of that entity, then giving it to a different entity. It's straight-forward wire fraud.

18 U.S.C. § 1343:

... having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice

2) They're collecting the personally identifiable information, including real names, user names, credit card information and web passwords, of people who use the site while masquerading as a trustworthy entity. That's straight-forward phishing: Phishing is the act of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money) by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. There is no specific anti-phishing federal law, but there are numerous state laws: http://www.ncsl.org/...

Here's California's

It shall be unlawful for any person, by means of a Web page, electronic mail message, or otherwise through use of the Internet, to solicit, request, or take any action to induce another person to provide identifying information by representing itself to be a business without the authority or approval of the business.

[UPDATE 3: The ACPA, thanks to wader from the comments:]

Another possible violation - The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act

The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d), is an American law enacted in 1999 and that established a cause of action for registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name confusingly similar to, or dilutive of, a trademark or personal name. The law was designed to thwart “cybersquatters” who register Internet domain names containing trademarks with no intention of creating a legitimate web site, but instead plan to sell the domain name to the trademark owner or a third party. Critics of the ACPA complain about the non-global scope of the Act and its potential to restrict free speech, while others dispute these complaints. Before the ACPA was enacted, trademark owners relied heavily on the Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA) to sue domain name registrants. The FTDA was enacted in 1995 in part with the intent to curb domain name abuses. The legislative history of the FTDA specifically mentions that trademark dilution in domain names was a matter of Congressional concern motivating the Act. Senator Leahy stated that “it is my hope that this anti-dilution statute can help stem the use of deceptive Internet addresses taken by those who are choosing marks that are associated with the products and reputations of others.” When you click contribute, you are taken to a page on the NRCC servers. I'm guessing, for security reasons, their ecommerce software won't run in a frame on a different domain. Here are the contribute pages I've found: NRCC contribute Pages

Ann Kirkpatrick nrcc.org/ann-kirkpatrick-congress/contribute/

Ron Barber nrcc.org/ron-barber-congress/contribute/

Kyrsten Sinema nrcc.org/kyrsten-sinema-congress/contribute/

Domenic Reccia nrcc.org/domenic-recchia-congress/contribute/

Martha Robertson nrcc.org/martha-robertson-congress/contribute/

Alex Sink nrcc.org/alex-sink-congress/contribute/

John Lewis nrcc.org/john-lewis-for-congress/contribute/

Amanda Renteria Using the url nrcc.org/amanda-renteria-for-congress/contribute is redirected to a generic contribution page.

John Tierney nrcc.org/john-tierney-congress/contribute/

John Barrow nrcc.org/john-barrow-congress/contribute/

Collin Peterson nrcc.org/collin-peterson-congress/contribute/

Matheson (can't find an nrcc contribute page for matheson)