What is the appropriate jurisdiction?
While determining under which country’s law any legal proceedings should take place is normally relatively simple, the transient nature of the internet presents some unique challenges.
The legal jurisdiction under which any proceedings could be brought against the operators of a fraudulent website would likely be where the fraudulent website is hosted and there are also circumstances in which other jurisdictions may be relevant.
The location of the fraudulent website’s host can be discovered by looking at its IP address – a 32-bit number assigned to all devices participating in a network, including websites. The IP address of a website’s host can be found by conducting a search using “Whois” (see Whois search to gather information about the website or domain name for further information).
Bear in mind that it is highly unlikely that a company would be sued in jurisdictions in which its only presence is an informational website. It is more likely that any action would be brought in the country in which the fraudulent company has its principal place of business.
