Domain name scams

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Domain name scams include a range of fraudulent schemes where scammers trick domain registrants into buying, selling, listing, or transferring a domain name. Scammers target victims in a variety of ways, often through fake urgent renewal invoices from domain registrars not affiliated with the domain to charge high renewal fees, by requesting that domain sellers pay costly appraisals to finalize a sale that doesn't exist, or by using fake trademark infringement claims to threaten a domain owner into transfer their domain name.

Contents

Domain slamming

Domain slamming, a term derived from telephone slamming, is a scam in which a domain registrar attempts to deceive a domain registrant into switching from their current registrar. Scammers frequently use WHOIS data to obtain the registrant's email address, phone number, and mailing address, then contact the owner claiming their domain is about to expire and must be renewed urgently to avoid deletion. [1] Victims who transfer their domains pay up to 3 times the price of a standard domain renewal. [2]

In 2004, ICANN, the domain name governing body, made changes to its policy for transferring domains between registrars. They introduced a single protective measure that can help prevent unauthorized transfers: domain locking. Critics, although advising owners to apply the new feature, said that this was an "unnecessary and customer-unfriendly change" as the new rules also included a provision that domains without locks would have transfer requests automatically approved after five days without a response from the administrator, whereas previously administrators were required to approve the transfer manually within five days. [3] [4]

Aftermarket scams

Domain appraisal scam target aftermarket domain name sellers. A scammer poses as a potential buyer and offers to purchase the domain name for a significant sum. However, the buyer insists that the seller first obtain an appraisal from a specific company. The prospect of a large payout makes the appraisal fee appear insignificant by comparison. After the seller pays for the appraisal and receives the report, the supposed buyer ceases communication. [5] Sellers can protect themselves from this scam by being cautious of offers that seem too good to be true, especially when there’s little or no attempt to negotiate, and to never pay for a domain appraisal at the buyer’s request. Instead, sellers should insist that the buyer cover the cost. [6]

Domain auction scam target aftermarket domain name buyers. A scammer lists a domain name on an auction platform and promotes the listing on forums and social media, claiming to have received a significant offer. They state that the winning bidder simply needs to close the deal, then profit on the price difference. Scammers may include a doctored image of the offer email to make the claim more convincing. Additionally, they may engage in shill bidding to drive up the price. The victim often ends up paying a substantial amount for a worthless domain, only to later discover that the offer never existed. [7] Sellers can protect themselves

Fake trademark protection

Although less common than domain slamming, another domain name scam primarily coming from registrars based in China involves sending domain owners an e-mail claiming that another company has just attempted to register a number of domains with them which contain the targeted domain owner's trademark or has many keyword similarities to their existing domain name. Often, these domains will be the same as the one(s) owned by the targeted individual but with different TLDs (top-level domains). The scammer will claim to have halted the bulk registration in order to protect the targeted individual's intellectual property, and if the email recipient doesn't recognize the entity attempting to register these domain names, that they should respond immediately to protect their trademark. If the scam target does respond by email or by phone, the scammer will then try to get them to register these domain names for several years upfront with the registrar running this scam. [8]

Other variations of this type of scam include registrars that target their own existing customers with similar made-up threats of another entity trying to register the same domain as theirs under different TLDs. As well, some domainers are known to search for available TLDs for already registered domains, then emailing the owner of the registered domain and offering to sell the unregistered variations to him/her for a marked up amount. If the target agrees to the deal, the domainer will then purchase the domains on the spot for the regular $7~20 registration fee and immediately sell it back to the victim for a few hundred dollars.[ citation needed ]

Timeline

This section outlines reported domain scams as a timeline of events, showing how they have evolved, the companies involved and the outcome of complaints.

See also

Notes

1. a b c d e f g h i Entities and resellers associated with Brandon Gray include Namejuice.com, Domain Registry of America, Domain Renewal Group, Domain Registry of Australia, Domain Registry of Canada, Domain Registry of Europe, Internet Registry of Canada, Liberty Names of America, Registration Services Inc, Yellow Business.ca and Internet Corporation Listing Service. [45]

References

  1. Seltzer, Larry (2007-07-16). "Beware Fake Domain Renewal Notices". eWEEK. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  2. Pilon, Marc (2018-04-17). "Domain Name Slamming: Protect Yourself". Web Hosting Canada. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  3. Rohde, Laura (November 12, 2004). "ICANN domain transfer policy takes effect". InfoWorld . Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  4. Lake, Matt (November 22, 2004). "Why it's easier than ever to lose your domain". CNET . Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  5. Namecheap, Keeping you connected to everything from; Allemann, Andrew (2016-11-10). "Don't Fall for the Domain Name Appraisal Scam". Namecheap Blog. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  6. Wells, Kevin. "Beware of Domain Name Appraisal Scams | kevwells.com" . Retrieved 2025-07-17.
  7. @domainretail (2025-07-13). "If someone posts domain is sold and it's still in user listed auction: they're promoting their auction. Same pattern as the seller who tried to sell: aigenerator .net and vectr .ai" (Tweet) via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. Lev, Amir (2009-12-09). "Beware Domain Registration Scams". PCWorld Communications, Inc. Archived from the original on 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
  9. Marron, Kevin (Nov 6, 2002). "'Domain slamming' surfaces on the Web". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  10. Charles, Bergeron. "Competition Bureau Issues Warning to Canadians about Misleading Mailings for Internet Domain Name Registrations". Competition Bureau. Archived from the original on 2011-08-24.
  11. TheRegister.co.uk: VeriSign hit with slamming lawsuit
  12. Federal Trade Commission: Court Shuts Down Website Selling Bogus Domain Names ".USA," ".BRIT," Deceptively Marketed as Useable Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Domain Name Registrars Settle FTC Charges". Archived from the original on 2012-04-16. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  14. 1 2 Richardson, Tim (17 July 2002). "Domain Registry of Europe defends tactics, sues Tucows". The Register. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  15. Michener, Lang. "1446513 Ontario Limited v. Tucows Inc. et al". TuCows. Archived from the original on August 10, 2003. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  16. Cooperman, Michael. "Legal Proceedings". Quarterly Report. Tucows Inc. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  17. Register.com says rival duped customers. By Lisa M. Bowman; Staff Writer, CNET News September 18, 2002 12:37 PM PDT
  18. Richardson, Tim (17 July 2002). "ASA slams 'intimidating' Domain Registry of Europe mailshots". The Register. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  19. Richardson, Tim (16 August 2002). "Ad watchdog critical of Domain Registry of Europe". The Register. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  20. Libbenga, Jan (6 August 2003). "Legal action threatened against domain slammer". The Register. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  21. TheRegister.co.uk: VeriSign slammed for domain renewal scam
  22. Federal Trade Commission v. Domain Registry of America, Inc.
  23. Federal Trade Commission: Court Bars Canadian Company from Misleading Consumers in Marketing of Internet Domain Name Services
  24. Libbenga, Jan (6 January 2004). "Court bars Canadian domain slammer". The Register . Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  25. Stephen Lawson (31 December 2002). "Judge Halts Domain Deception". PC World . Archived from the original on 14 January 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  26. King, Julie (July 2, 2004). "Toronto man sentenced in Bogus Invoice Scam". CanadaOne . Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  27. "False billing". Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  28. "Domain Name Registration Scams". www.consumerfraudreporting.org. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  29. Saarinen, Juha (August 7, 2006). "Rafferty brother continues domain slamming scam". Fairfax Media Business Group, Fairfax New Zealand Limited. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  30. Seltzer, Larry (2007-07-16). "Beware Fake Domain Renewal Notices". eWeek . Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  31. "The Internet Centre - Domain name scams". Archived from the original on 2012-02-11. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  32. Mitchell, Robert (November 7, 2007). "The not-quite-domain-name-slamming school of marketing". Computerworld Inc. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  33. "Network Solutions Scam". 7 March 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  34. ICANN: ALAC Statement to the Board of ICANN on Amendments to the Registrar Accreditation Agreement Sun 14 Sep 2008
  35. "ASA Adjudication on Domain Registry of America". ASA. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  36. "L'essentiel sur le renouvellement d'un nom de domaine -". 26 May 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  37. Schmugar, Craig (30 March 2010). "Persistent Domain-Renewal Scam Alive and Kicking". McAfee Labs Blog. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  38. Jackson, Brian (2010-09-22). "Alleged 'domain slammers' lose dot-ca licence, sue CIRA $10 million". ITworldcanada. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  39. Shea, Dave. "Domain Registry Scam". mezzoblue. Dave Shea/mezzoblue. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  40. Jackson, Brian (2010-09-22). "Alleged 'domain slammers' lose dot-ca licence, sue CIRA $10 million". ITworldcanada . Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  41. "FTC Halts Cross Border Domain Name Registration Scam". 9 August 2010.
  42. "Ostrolenk Faber LLP". www.ostrolenk.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  43. "Who are GoDaddy's (GDDY) main competitors?". Investopedia. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  44. Neylon, Michele (19 July 2014). "Domain Registry Of America Suspended By ICANN". Domain Industry & Internet News. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  45. Chirgwin, Richard (20 July 2014). "Brandon Gray aka Namejuice suspended by ICANN". The Register . Retrieved 4 August 2014.