Donuts Inc.’s major play for new Web domain names raises fears of fraud

A historic land rush is underway for vast new swaths of the Internet: Amazon has bid for control of all the Web addresses that end with “.book.” Google wants “.buy.” Allstate wants “.carinsurance.” But the single most aggressive bidder for lucrative new Web domains is a little-known investment group with an intriguing name: Donuts Inc. Its $57 million play for 307 new domains — more than Google, Amazon and Allstate combined — has prompted alarm among industry groups and Internet watchdogs. They warn that Donuts has close ties to a company with a well-documented history of providing services to spammers and other perpetrators of Internet abuses. Should Donuts come to control hundreds of new domains, including “.doctor,” “.financial” and “.school,” consumers could see a spike in online misbehavior, these critics warn.