We’ve had an increase in queries over the last few weeks from clients referencing various domain scams. These seem to go in cycles, with a different variant popping up every few years, but below are the common ones to be aware of.
Domain Slamming
This one has been around for years – I remember clients falling for domain slamming in the early 2000s. This scam consists of a deceptive registrar who attempts to get you to transfer your domain from your current provider to them, by a carefully worded (or outright lying) email. These may be official-looking invoices, pay now links, threats you’ll lose your domain name, etc. If you do transfer, you can expect inflated renewal fees and difficulty when you want to transfer away.
Domain Expiry Notification Service
Perhaps not an outright scam, but certainly on the dubious side. Again, you receive an official-looking email that at first glance looks like a renewal notice with an invite to pay. However, on closer examination it is just for a notification service – so they’ll tell you when your domain is due to expire, but they can’t actually renew it for you.
Your current domain registrar should be sending you a renewal reminder anyway, so definitely a paid for service you don’t need.
Trademark Conflict
This type of scam usually originates from a Chinese domain registry who email claiming someone is trying to buy domains with .cn / .com.cn / .hk / .tw extensions and they want to let you know as it conflicts with your company name or trademark. Oh, and would you like to buy them instead before they do do?
Ignore these. Never have I known them to register the domains they claim are under threat.
Domain Appraisal
You receive an email from someone who wants to buy one of your domains. That can happen, but in the follow-up correspondence they want you to get the domain appraised through a specific company to validate the cost. And there’s the scam, once you’ve paid to have it appraised, you hear nothing more as the scammer is tied to the appraisal service..
Spot a Domain Scam
- Cost – Domain renewals are usually around £10-£30 per year, depending on the domain type, so anything significantly more than that should instantly raise alarm bells.
- False Urgency – Pay now and short deadlines.
- Never Heard of Them – If you haven’t had correspondence with the company before about a domain, be careful.
