Domain Name Scams: How to Know One When you See One

September 20, 2017

Domain Name Scams: How to Know One When you See One
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Domain Name Scams: How to Know One When you See One An official looking letter comes in the mail from an internet domain registration company. It urges you to renew or switch your domain over to their services before it expires, telling you to take advantage of their best value offer before it’s too late.

Guess what: it’s a scam. How do we know? We get them ourselves. And we also know how to debunk their claims. AND we’ll tell you how to do it too!

We recently received this notice from Internet Domain Name Services, or iDNS:

Domain Name Scams: How to Know One When you See One

Red Flag #1: Price Inflation

You’ll see the “best value” they’re offering is actually way more then what you’re probably paying currently. Depending on the domain name, costs usually don’t exceed $30 for two years.

The notice from iDNS asks for $45 for just one year and $80 for two.

Red Flag #2: Mismatching records on whois.icann.org

We debunk their claim of “expiring soon” with a quick search on whois.icann.org. The search results will let you see your domain and registrar information, including your registrant, admin and tech contacts, important dates, even server names.  Yes, I said important dates, like the day your domain is set to expire.  Yup, it’s public record unless you pay to keep it private.  See below outlined in yellow, that’s the money spot.

Domain Name Scams: How to Know One When you See One

According to this tool, the domain listed on the iDNS notice above shows an expiration of 2019, not 2017.

So yep, it’s a scam.

How Domain Scams Work

iDNS is one of many predatory scammers sending fake letters lying to domain holders about their contracts expiring. They recognize people aren’t all too into details, therefore they purposefully make the notice look like a bill rather than a letter by selecting formats and headers that mimic legit invoices.

Not to mention most business owners aren’t putting their domain name registration details at the forefront of their minds and often (and easily) forget who their registrar is. iDNS preys on this knowledge, sending notices to businesses urging immediate action be taken. Unfortunately many businesses will go ahead and send in the money with the intention of saving themselves trouble in the long-term only to find they were just plain robbed.

Domain scams are so widespread they have their own Wikipedia page, and scammers have even come up with a name for faking domain name expiration: domain slamming.

How to Debunk Domain Slammers

What To Do if you Think You’re Being Scammed

If you receive a suspicious letter, there are a few steps you can take to make sure you don’t become a victim of this popular scam:

  1. Don’t panic!

An easy solution is to just throw the letter away. However, if you need to verify it’s a scam for your own peace of mind, you can tell by taking steps 2 through 4 below to tell whether or not you are being scammed.

  1. Look up your hosting service on WHOIS.

WHOIS is the free search tool we mentioned earlier in our post that allows people to see information related to their domains. Check who your domain is registered with (listed under Registrar) and when the domain license expires. If it’s a scam, you’ll likely see your domain isn’t set to expire on the date featured on the domain name notice you received.

  1. Consider how your hosting service communicates.

Hosting providers are companies making their living on the web, so it makes sense that their preferred mode of communication is through the Internet. Receiving a letter rather than an email should automatically raise a red flag. If in doubt, you can always contact your domain service and ask them.

  1. Trust your gut.

You know the feeling: the offer just seems a little too good to be true, and they’ve told you one too many times you need to act NOW.

Legitimate businesses don’t generally resort to scare tactics, that totally went out with the First Red Scare in 1920. If your domain is going to expire, your registrar will contact you in advance, sans threats and unrealistic offers.

So you know you’re not a victim… now what?

Congrats on triumphing over the scammers! Pat yourself on the back and continue paying your standard domain fees. When it comes time to renew, look up the rates your domain service charges and compare them with other providers (the legit ones, that is). Whether you decide to renew is up to you, just remember a reputable company won’t pressure you into into paying an immediate and bloated price. It’s no skin off their back if you don’t renew. Though, like most of us, they are in business to make a profit. So if you choose not to renew your domain, they’ll just sell it to someone else after it expires.

Still not sure? Contact the experts for a second opinion.

Who Manifested This Madness?

Monica Maye Pitts

This fabulous human, that's who.

Monica Maye Pitts

Monica is the creative force and founder of MayeCreate. She has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with an emphasis in Economics, Education and Plant Science from the University of Missouri. Monica possesses a rare combination of design savvy and technological know-how. Her clients know this quite well. Her passion for making friends and helping businesses grow gives her the skills she needs to make sure that each client, or friend, gets the attention and service he or she deserves.

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