AGENT SKILLBY KOSTJA94
Brand protection
AT A GLANCE
Brand protection is a brand skill for AI agents. Guides discovery, reporting, and prevention of brand impersonation—fake websites, phishing sites, trademark infringement, and domain squatting. It is published by kostja94 in the kostja94/marketing-skills GitHub repository (691 stars) under the MIT license. Install it with: npx skills add kostja94/marketing-skills --skill brand-protection
- SOURCE REPOSITORY
- kostja94/marketing-skills (opens GitHub in a new tab)
- REPO STARS
- SOURCE REPOSITORY
- LICENSE
- MIT
- CATEGORIES
- SKILL.MD SIZE
- 8.9 KB152 LINES
QUICK ANSWER
- WHAT IT IS01
- Guides discovery, reporting, and prevention of brand impersonation, fake websites, phishing sites, trademark infringement, and domain squatting. The value is a focused slice of brand and messaging judgment, useful when several similar skills cover the same ground.
- INPUTS02
- Context for brand and messaging: your goals, audience, constraints, and any source material the skill asks for.
- OUTPUT03
- A ready-to-use result for brand and messaging: the analysis, copy, or recommendations the agent produces.
INSTALL
One command adds this skill from its source repository.
npx skills add kostja94/marketing-skills --skill brand-protectionREAD THE SKILL.MD BELOW BEFORE YOU RUN IT. SKILLS INSTRUCT YOUR AGENT.
SKILL.MD
The full file, as published in the source repository. Copy it, download it or open it on GitHub.
ON THIS PAGE · 17
Strategy: Brand Protection#
Guides discovery, reporting, and prevention of brand impersonation—fake websites, phishing sites, trademark infringement, and domain squatting. See domain-selection for defensive domain registration; trust-badges for official site verification signals; about-page for identity declaration.
When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.
Initial Assessment#
Check for project context first: If .claude/project-context.md or .cursor/project-context.md exists, read it for brand name, official domain, and key assets.
Identify:
- Impersonation type: Fake website, phishing, trademark misuse, domain squatting
- Evidence available: Screenshots, URLs, WHOIS, hosting info
- Legal assets: Registered trademark, copyright ownership
- Impact: Traffic interception (fake site ranks for brand queries)? Payment fraud (users pay on fake site, then contact official support)?
Evidence Collection Checklist#
| Item | Action |
|---|---|
| Full URLs | Document all key pages of the fake site |
| Screenshots | Homepage, product pages, logo, layout; include date/time |
| Comparison | Side-by-side: official vs fake (layout, logo, copy similarity) |
| WHOIS | Use ICANN Lookup (opens in a new tab) for registrar, creation date, registrant |
| Hosting | IP lookup to identify hosting provider |
Reporting Channels (Priority Order)#
| Channel | Entry | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Domain registrar | Abuse / Report Misuse on registrar site | Brand impersonation, trademark, fraud |
| Hosting provider | Same; submit abuse form | Hosting infringing content |
| Google Safe Browsing | Report Phishing (opens in a new tab) | Phishing / impersonation risk |
| Google Trademark | Trademark Complaint (opens in a new tab) or trademark@google.com | Trademark infringement in search; requires registered trademark |
| Bing Content Removal | Content Moderation Platform (opens in a new tab) | Copyright/trademark; content removal from Bing |
| Payment processors | PayPal Resolution Center, Stripe support | If fake site accepts payments; report fraud |
| Social platforms | X, Facebook, Instagram abuse forms | If fake site is promoted or linked there |
| Google Ads / Microsoft Ads | Platform trademark complaint forms | If impersonator runs brand ads |
| DMCA | To hosting provider | Copyright infringement; images, copy, design copied |
| ICANN | DNS Abuse complaint (opens in a new tab) | If registrar does not respond within reasonable time |
Report content: Include full URL, clear description of fraudulent activity, and all evidence (screenshots, logs).
Reporting Best Practices#
Registrar vs hosting: Use ICANN Lookup (opens in a new tab) for registrar. For hosting, use IP lookup (HostingCheckerOnline, HostingDetector, ipinfo.io) to find origin server—registrar may be Cloudflare while origin host is elsewhere; report to both.
Cloudflare as registrar: Use abuse.cloudflare.com (opens in a new tab) or abuse form (opens in a new tab); select "Phishing & Malware" for impersonation. Email complaints are generally not processed; use the online form. Provide specific URLs of infringing pages.
Hosting detection: Sites behind Cloudflare CDN hide origin IP. Use reverse IP lookup or hosting detection tools to identify underlying host; submit abuse to that provider as well.
Parallel reporting: Submit to registrar, host, and Google Safe Browsing simultaneously; do not wait for one before others. Google trademark review takes 1–8 weeks.
Legal Options#
| Option | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cease and desist | Trademark infringement | Lawyer-drafted; often first step |
| DMCA takedown | Copyrighted material copied | Images, copy, design; hosting providers typically comply |
| Consumer protection | Scam / fraud | FTC ReportFraud.ftc.gov (US) |
| Law enforcement | Financial loss, identity theft | IC3 (FBI) for cybercrime |
Prevention Measures#
Defensive Registration#
- Register brand+ai, brand+app, brand+official, etc. See domain-selection for defensive registration.
- Redirect variants to main domain; do not deploy separate sites.
Official Site Verification#
Place "Official website: [domain]" prominently:
- Homepage (above fold or hero)
- Sign-in / Sign-up pages
- Pricing / Payment pages: "Only pay at [official-domain]. Do not enter payment on other domains."
- Footer: "© [Brand]. Official site: [domain]"
- FAQ: "How do I verify I'm on the official site?" → "The only official URL is [domain]. Any other domain is not affiliated."
Use trust-badges for verification signals. See about-page for identity declaration.
Customer Support (Payment Fraud)#
When users report "can't use after payment" but no record exists—likely paid on fake site:
- Verify source: Ask which URL they used (request screenshot or URL).
- Response template: Explain that the only official site is [official-domain]; if they paid elsewhere, that site is not affiliated. Recommend: (a) dispute charge with payment provider, (b) use only [official-domain] going forward.
- Roll out template to support team; ensure consistent messaging.
User Education#
- Social media pinned post / announcement: "Only use [official-domain]"
- Email signatures, support replies: link to official domain only
Traffic Recovery (When Impersonation Intercepts Search)#
| Tactic | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Brand search ads | Run Google Ads and Microsoft Ads on brand terms; ensure official site appears first for brand queries |
| SEO | Strengthen official site for branded queries; Organization schema, clear H1, meta tags. See schema-markup, title-tag |
| Social | Pinned post: "Only use [official-domain]. Beware of impersonation." |
Monitoring (Ongoing)#
- Periodic search: brand name + common variants (e.g., brand+ai, brand+app)
- See brand-monitoring for monitoring setup, tool selection, and cadence
Timeline (Typical)#
| Phase | Focus |
|---|---|
| Immediate (Days 1–3) | Support template; site declaration; evidence collection |
| Short-term (Week 1–2) | Abuse reports; Google Safe Browsing; DMCA if applicable |
| Traffic (Week 2+) | Brand ads; SEO; social announcement |
| Ongoing | Monitoring; defensive registration if feasible |
Implementation Checklist#
Short-term (1–2 weeks): Evidence collection; abuse reports to registrar and host; Google Safe Browsing report; DMCA if applicable; add "Official website" on site.
Medium-term: Add impersonation guidance to domain-selection; official verification to trust-badges, about-page.
Long-term: Periodic search (brand + variants); brand monitoring (BrandShield, Doppel); defensive registration of variants.
Output Format#
- Evidence package (checklist, evidence list)
- Report templates (registrar, hosting, Google)
- Timeline (immediate vs medium vs long-term actions)
- Prevention (defensive registration, site verification, user education)
References#
- How to Report and Take Down a Fake Website - LegalClarity (opens in a new tab)
- Website Spoofing: Detection and Take Down - BrandShield (opens in a new tab)
- ICANN DNS Abuse Complaints Guide (opens in a new tab)
- Google Safe Browsing - Report Phishing (opens in a new tab)
- Cloudflare Abuse Reporting (opens in a new tab) — use online form; select Phishing & Malware
- Google Trademark Complaint (opens in a new tab)
- Bing Content Removal (opens in a new tab)
Related Skills#
- domain-selection: Defensive domain registration; brand variants
- rebranding-strategy: When rebranding, sync brand protection checks
- brand-monitoring: Proactive monitoring setup; tool selection; this skill = reactive takedown
- branding: Brand asset protection; consistency
- trust-badges: Official site verification signals
- about-page: Official identity and domain declaration
- homepage-generator: "Official website" placement
- google-ads, paid-ads-strategy: Brand search ads for traffic recovery
- schema-markup, title-tag: SEO for branded queries
FAQ
07 QUESTIONS
01What is the Brand protection agent skill?
Guides discovery, reporting, and prevention of brand impersonation, fake websites, phishing sites, trademark infringement, and domain squatting. It is listed under brand in the 100xLab agent skills directory.
02How do I install Brand protection in Cursor, Claude Code, or Codex?
Run npx skills add kostja94/marketing-skills --skill brand-protection in the project where you want it, then ask your agent for the skill by name. The --skill flag installs only Brand protection, not every skill in the repository.
03What does the Brand protection SKILL.md cover?
The SKILL.md includes sections on Initial Assessment, Evidence Collection Checklist, Reporting Channels (Priority Order), Reporting Best Practices, Legal Options and Prevention Measures. Read the full text on this page or in plain markdown at /resources/agent-skills/kostja94-marketing-skills--brand-protection--17qyb73/raw.
04Which agents can use Brand protection?
Brand protection installs with the cross-agent skills installer (npx skills add), which sets it up for agents such as Claude Code, Cursor and Codex. Each agent loads the SKILL.md when you ask for the skill by name.
05What license is Brand protection under?
The kostja94/marketing-skills repository declares the MIT license. Read the license file in the repository before you copy or redistribute the skill.
06Is Brand protection free to use?
Reading, copying and installing Brand protection costs nothing: it is published in a public GitHub repository under the MIT license. Reuse and redistribution follow that license.
07Where is the source of Brand protection?
Brand protection comes from https://github.com/kostja94/marketing-skills, which has 691 GitHub stars. The SKILL.md is at https://github.com/kostja94/marketing-skills/blob/HEAD/skills/strategies/brand/brand-protection/SKILL.md. The author is kostja94.
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ATTRIBUTION
Brand protection was written by its original authors and is published in kostja94/marketing-skills (opens GitHub in a new tab) under the MIT license. All rights stay with the original authors.
100xLab did not write, maintain or endorse this skill. This page lists it for discovery. Repo stars belong to the source repository, not to the skill. Review any skill before you install it.