What is a domain name scam?
Domain names are purchased by business owners for websites and email (e.g. mybusiness.co.uk), and there are many different domain name extensions available to purchase (e.g. .com, .net, .co.uk, .org.uk etc). To buy all these extensions is expensive, and in many cases pointless. Therefore it is possible for you to register myuniquebusinessname.com and someone else register the exact same name but with a .co.uk extension. This may be of concern to you, or it may not, depending on your business. Domain name scammers prey upon this fear of some other company getting your name, and they prey upon the general ignorance of most business owners when it comes to domain name registrations.
There are two popular scams:
Scam Number 1: The scare tactic
In this scam, you will receive a telephone call from a domain registration company who will tell you that another company is about to buy all your domain names. There are a number of variations on this blag, but basically, it's a load of rubbish. Registering a domain name these days is an almost instant process. No-one will be "notified" that you are trying to register a domain name, so whenever you hear this kind of nonesense on the phone, be assured it is a scam.
The telesales scammer will want to take your credit card there and then for the domain registration. They will, in all probability register the names, but you will have been charged way over the odds for domains that you neither needed, wanted nor were in any danger of being registered by some other company.
Sometimes these scammers boost their illicit profits by selling domains for long periods (e.g. 10 years). Some domains cannot be registered for 10 years, but by the time the renewal does come around and you realise you haven't got what you paid for, the scammers will be long gone.
Scam Number 2: The renewal transfer
This scam is usually done by post. You will receive an official looking renewal notice from a company purporting to be your domain name registrar. They are not of course, and when you submit the renewal request with them, they will also transfer the domain to themselves. Once they have your domain, they can charge you pretty much whatever they like.
How to Avoid Being Scammed
Never, ever, give someone your credit card over the phone in a telesales call. An honest business won't mind if you take a while to think about it and then call them back. You are in control. Hang up the phone.
If a scammer phones you and tells you that names are available, and you think you would like to buy them, hang up the phone and go search online for a reputable company to register the domains for you.
If you receive a letter in the post that isn't from your host or domain name registrar, don't respond to it. Contact your host or registrar and seek their advice.
No-one phones someone they don't know out of the blue to do them a favour - these companies may sound like they're helping you out, but all they are helping is themselves... to your money!