Legal advice for online reputation attack
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Online reputation attack? Our legal advice team stops the damage fast
Online reputation attacks are deliberate, dangerous, and increasingly common. These are not just random insults online—they are sustained campaigns designed to destroy your name, your business, and your future. Whether it’s a fake website, a coordinated social media smear campaign, or false news stories about you, the consequences can be devastating. This is where expert legal advice and fast action make all the difference.
Examples of online reputation attacks: from fake reviews to stolen domains
Online reputation attacks take many forms. These include fake websites mimicking your brand, negative review campaigns, defamatory content in bogus news outlets, and smear campaigns that spread across social media. Some attacks are so severe that they lead to regulatory investigations, sanctions, or reputational collapse. We regularly see online reputation attacks take many forms. These include fake websites mimicking your brand, negative review campaigns, defamatory content in bogus news outlets, and smear campaigns that spread across social media. Some attacks are so severe that they lead to regulatory investigations, sanctions, or reputational collapse.
Case studies: How we stopped real online reputation attacks and protected our clients
Online reputation attacks aren’t abstract. They happen every day to real businesses, with real consequences. Here are three examples where we responded fast, applied the right legal strategy, and protected our clients’ reputations and operations.
In one case, a client running a successful forex trading platform discovered their website had been cloned. The fake site looked identical to theirs, and within days, unsuspecting customers were depositing funds into the fraudulent account. Complaints started pouring in accusing the client of being a scam, damaging years of trust. We stepped in immediately, secured the fraudulent domain and had it transferred to the client. While legal steps were under way, we managed reputational damage through direct and coordinated customer communication, either handling it ourselves or supporting the client’s outreach to reassure affected users and protect the brand.
In another matter, a national property developer faced an online attack in the form of false allegations that one of their flagship projects was failing and that the company was unlikely to complete property purchases. None of it was true. Still, these lies triggered a wave of public complaints on forums and review sites, with accusations of fraud and scam. We worked quickly to control the narrative, helping the client handle angry buyers, manage internal and external communications, and arrange for accurate national coverage to correct the record.
A third client, an international arms and technology exporter, was falsly accused of breaching US sanctions by supplying products to sanctioned countries like Iran. The attack was delivered through fake news websites using fabricated stories and altered images. The threat of reputational damage and even legal sanctions was immediate and severe. We investigated, identified the attacker as a direct competitor, and worked with international lawyers to shut down the network of fake sites. Simultaneously, we supported the client in communicating with government officials, press outlets, and key business partners to clarify the facts and maintain their credibility. In every case, the key was speed, strategy, and clear messaging. We not only removed the defamatory or fraudulent material but actively protected our clients’ reputations with legal advice and communication support.
Our legal advice strategy for stopping online reputation attacks
When you're under attack, every second counts. Our team begins work immediately. We preserve digital evidence, trace the source of the attack, and issue legal take-down requests to platforms, search engines, and hosting providers. If needed, we secure emergency injunctions through the High Court, sometimes on the same day.
We also have an in-house OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) capability, which allows us to act with exceptional speed. Our OSINT specialists use publicly available data to identify individuals or groups behind the attacks, locate website registrants, uncover the real-world locations of servers, and monitor threat activity in real time. This approach saves our clients enormous amounts of time and energy while giving us high-quality, actionable intelligence to support legal action and reputation recovery efforts. Our legal advice is built on speed, accuracy, and global reach.
Tackling fake news, review sabotage and domain theft with UK law
Defamation law in the UK offers strong protection against false and harmful statements. If you’ve suffered reputational or financial harm due to lies published online, we will act under the Defamation Act 2013 or malicious falsehood law. However, domain name theft presents a unique and urgent legal challenge that often intersects with multiple areas of law. When a domain name is hijacked or cloned, whether by impersonators, fraudsters, or competitors, the consequences can be immediate and severe.
We respond by invoking trademark law, copyright protections, passing off, and anti-cybersquatting principles. In some cases, domain theft may also constitute criminal fraud. These legal mechanisms allow us to act quickly to recover the domain, stop the damage, and hold the perpetrators accountable. We assist clients with UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy) proceedings where applicable, and pursue civil court actions to obtain emergency injunctions and compensation. We also use cybercrime reporting channels and international registrars to speed up recovery of stolen domains.
Even anonymous domain thieves and impersonators can be identified through Norwich Pharmacal Orders and other disclosure applications that compel registrars and ISPs to reveal ownership and technical details. If your domain has been stolen, cloned, or is being used to mislead customers, we act immediately, combining legal action with strategic communication support to protect your business and reputation.
We deliver fast global legal response to online reputation attacks
Your attacker might be based abroad—but that doesn’t stop us. We work across borders, collaborating with international counsel, chasing down foreign-hosted content, and coordinating enforcement in multiple jurisdictions. If the attack affects your UK business, we take fast legal steps wherever the content is found. In the United States, we have a trusted network of associate attorneys, many of whom we have worked with for nearly 20 years. These experienced professionals are based in almost every state and are ready to act immediately issuing subpoenas, filing claims, and pursuing legal remedies in any city where action is needed. We understand the strategic importance of where and when to file, and we do so affordably and with speed.
Why you need immediate legal advice when your reputation is under attack
Delaying a response to an online reputation attack can be fatal. Content spreads quickly, gets indexed by search engines, and becomes harder to remove as time passes. Within days or weeks, your business could face irreversible damage or even risk being dissolved.
False accusations online can shake investor confidence, scare off customers, and attract unwanted regulatory attention. Never underestimate how quickly your reputation can be ruined in the digital world. Getting legal advice as soon as possible is not just sensible but rather essential. It's unlikely you've faced this kind of situation before, which is why experience matters. You'll need a seasoned legal team that knows exactly what to do, how to act quickly, and where to intervene most effectively.
We protect your name with expert legal advice on online reputation attacks
We understand how stressful it is to face an online reputation attack. Our mission is to respond rapidly, stop the attack, remove the lies, and restore your credibility. Whether you're facing smears in the UK or from abroad, we have the experience and legal firepower to act decisively.
Beyond legal strategy, we offer both in-house and external support to guide you through the entire reputation recovery process. This includes reputation management planning, both internally for your team and externally for your customers and stakeholders.
We help draft and support crisis communications, manage press enquiries, and work closely with media and investigative journalists to avoid escalation, misreporting, and misunderstandings. Our aim is not only to end the attack, but to bring your public and business presence back to normal as quickly and effectively as possible.
