Firms with .com domain name are at risk from a new scam involving the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Cameroon, .cm.

According to domain name website CircleID, the state-owned .cm operator has "wildcarded the ccTLD and is monetising its traffic" – this means that if consumers mistype the name of their intended destination with ".cm" instead of ".com", they will be redirected to a page of advertising.

This so-called "typosquatting" is similar to VeriSign's SiteFinder service, which was eventually suspended after complaints from internet oversight body Icann. In a blog posting, internet expert John Levine said that because the .cm domain is run by a state-owned company, it may be easier to "go after" the companies hosting the typosquatting domains, many of which are located in North America.

"I would think that many of the .com sites would have a slam-dunk case against these sites," Levine added.