A Liberal MP for Cape Breton said the person who took over one of his secondary websites is requesting $500 to give it back.
Rodger Cuzner, the federal representative for Cape Breton-Canso, was informed last week that rodgercuzner.ca is leading visitors to an online dating service for seniors looking to date younger partners.
Cuzner had owned the domain for years but said someone purchased it on Feb. 25, two days after its registration expired.
The Glace Bay native said the web page was active at the beginning of his political career, but over the years, it mainly served as a link to his parliamentary page.
“You know a couple of things go through your mind. First I thought it might have been a text savvy friend that was pranking me or something,” said Cuzner. “It’s a bit humorous at first, but then when you realize it has got real implications, you become concerned and you look at it and it’s almost like virtual extortion.”
Cuzner and his advisors have since decided to secure related domains which drop the “d” off Rodger. He said those domains were purchased as a precautionary measure since his name is often spelled incorrectly.
Having paid $100 for three web addresses, Cuzner feels whoever bought rodgercuzner.ca is trying to seize on a profitable business opportunity. An office administrator has been in contact with that person, but is unsure of the person’s full name or location.
“The advice that we’re getting from the legal department of the House of Commons and Liberal research is we should get it, secure it and deal with it afterwards,” Cuzner said. “I’m still not sold on the fact that I want to give these guys 500 bucks either … the jury’s still out.”
