Are You Being Scammed? Don’t Let a False Domain Expiration Fool You
on September 16, 2019
Your domain name is the keystone of your company’s digital presence. Think of all the platforms and services tied to a company’s domain, like email, website, CRM and hosting services.
So if you got a letter in the mail saying you need to renew your domain name or you’ll lose it, what would you do? Probably renew it!
But not so fast...this type of letter is a scam known as “domain slamming”.
If you’ve received a letter like this, we have some good news:
- Your domain name is not expiring soon
- The company who sent the letter isn’t even your domain registrar
We’ll explain below...
An example domain slamming letter
It seems pretty legitimate, right?
This letter is doing a great job masquerading as a legal domain renewal... BUT there is one part of this letter that gives its scam nature away (we've underlined it in red).
"You are under no obligation to pay the amounts stated below, unless you accept this offer. This notice is not a bill, it is rather an easy means of payment should you decide to switch your domain name registration to Domain Registry."
If you were to provide this company with your approval and your money, they would probably transfer your domain to their system and continue to charge you for ownership.
So, how can you prevent getting caught in this kind of scam going forward?
- 1
Know who your registrar is. This way, when you receive a letter like this, you won’t be fooled. If you don’t know who your registrar is, don’t sweat it. You can easily search for your domain on the WHOIS database to find out. Simply type your domain into the search bar and you’re good to go.
- 2
Know when your real expiry date is, so you can spot a scam like this quickly.
- 3
Educate staff on “domain slamming”, so an office manager or another staff member doesn’t pay the bill before you’re able to get involved.
- 4
Use a domain locking feature. This is a security feature that some registrars offer to prevent unauthorized changes to your domain. This can protect you from domain slamming and other unauthorized scams (learn more here).
Still have questions? We understand how confusing and frightening this kind of thing can be. If you still have questions about who your registrar is or whether or not you’re being scammed, we’d be happy to help.
