Domain Name Expiration and Transfer Alert Scams
The following is a public service advisement for Progressive Element clients, affiliates and anyone who owns a domain name
December 2010
In the past couple of years a scam that is almost as ancient as the commercial web, had become even more popular. The scammers send you, a web site owner, a domain renewal or domain transfer notice by mail or by email. The notice looks much like an official certified mail and may include an invoice to pay, and, in case of an email, a link to pay the invoice online, log into your account with your registrar, etc.
Chances are this is not coming from your real domain registrar. Several fishy companies are targeting unsuspecting domain owners with such domain expiration notices, made to look like renewal notices and invoices. These are PHONY! These companies are soliciting the transfer of your domain(s) AWAY from your current registrar so they can take over the account, charge you -- usually MORE than you pay now, giving you no additional benefits. On occasion, such scammers are aiming at gaining access to personal information in a phishing scheme!
Progressive Element clients - if you receive such notice by mail or email and are not absolutely sure as to its nature, please run it by us before taking ANY action. We will let you know if its legit. Do NOT pay it assuming its real. Once you approve the domain transfer there is close to nothing that we will be able to do for you.
A few of the companies known to be sending such notices include Verisign, Register.com and Domain Registry of America. Another player in this market is domainregistratservice.com with more and more such names emerging all the time.
To protect your domain name please make sure your domain names are LOCKED at your current registrar. Most newly registered names are locked by default. But it’s worth checking and confirming. If you are not sure, please ask Progressive Element to check this for you. By locking the domain name, your current registrar cannot release the domain without your explicit request.
If you fall a victim to such scam you stand to not only pay more, but possibly lose your domain name or be held hostage as to how your domain name may be used. You may think that this can be easily fixed as you owned the domain name but unless you are a Microsoft or an IBM chances are it will not be an easy and definitely not an inexpensive battle to win your domain name back!
If you sent payment to a scammer, dispute the charge with your credit card company and/or bank. We can advise but we cannot assist once such action was taken by you.
You also want to make sure the domain name is registered under YOUR company name and that you are the administrative contact listed. This will make it harder for any scammer to take your domain name away.
Also, do make sure you renew your domain name on time. If your domain name expires, chances are someone else is waiting to grab it and then blackmail you to get it back. You may list Progressive Element as your Administrative Contact and/or Technical Contact with your registrar so we can monitor all this for you. This service is done at no extra cost for our clients.
If you have been scammed, you may also want to file a complaint online with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center which is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). IFCC's mission is to address fraud committed over the Internet. For victims of Internet fraud, IFCC provides a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of a suspected criminal or civil violation. You may also filed a complaint with InterNIC. Click Hereto file a complaint online with the InterNIC. While they may not respond directly, they do monitor complaints filed online for patterns.
If the scam came by mail, please visit the United States Postal Service for information regarding mail fraud. It's against the law to send mail that looks like an invoice and not have it marked clearly as a solicitation. Whether you're in the US or in Canada, if the "invoice" you received was from Verisign, you should consider reporting the incident to the USPS. To file a complaint with the USPS online, click here.
You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade commission at FTC online complaint form.
Your first line of defense is to lock the domain name and make sure you are the owner. Your second line of defense is to consult with us at Progressive Element. It is a free service included for all our clients.