Domain Slamming Alert > Domain Name Scams

Caution, if you receive a domain name renewal notice by U.S. mail or e-mail, be careful!  
There is a chance the invoice is a misleading mailing. 

Some of our members have received 'official-looking' domain renewal invoices from a 
variety of different companies.  These invoices may not be your official renewal notice. 
There are many companies registering domain names and some have engaged in
questionable business practices aimed at getting you to renew your domain 
through them, and not with your primary registry.

How The Scam Works   What These Scams Mean To You  Who's Running These Scams
What Is CVC Internet Doing?   What You Should Do?  Filing A Complaint

How The Scam Works

1. You receive a domain expiry notice in the mail. This bogus invoice lists 
   your domain name(s) with an amount to be paid and a reply by date.
   

2. You or someone in your organization respond to the notice 
   and send a payment by check or credit card.
   

3. No confirmation request email is sent to you to authorize the transfer.
   

4. A transfer request is submitted to the registry and the transfer process begins.

When you choose to transfer your domain name from one registrar to another, 
it is the responsibility of the gaining registrar, the company you are transferring to, 
to get the authorization of the domain owner before processing the transfer.

Normally, this confirmation is done by sending an email to the 
administrative contact listed in the current 'Whois' record for the domain.

Once you've sent a payment, your domain could complete the transfer 
without further confirmation or knowledge from you.

Once this happens, the only way to get your domain back with your current 
registrar is to transfer it back, and pay for an additional year's renewal.

What These "Renewal Scams" Could Mean To You

If you renew your domain(s) by responding to one of these 
phony renewal notices, the following can happen:

1. Cost you more money (renewal and transfer fees).

2. Make it difficult to modify domain registration information.

3. Could cause loss of domain name rights and/or activity of web site hosting. 

    

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Who Is Running These "Scams"?

Companies known to be sending out domain expiry notices 
for domains that were never registered with them include: 
Domain Registry of America / Domain Registry of Canada, 
VeriSign and Register.com

What We Are Doing?

Approximately 30 days before the domain name is due for renewal, 
CVC Internet will notify domain hosting members of the renewal date, 
the current renewal specials and the primary registry for the domain name. 

 If you receive any invoice or notice that you are unsure of 
or if the notice did not come from CVC Internet, please don't hesitate 
to call the office (during office hours) at 541-884-5488 or send an 
e-mail inquiry to office@cvc.net.  CVC Internet wants to keep you informed, 
so you can make the correct decisions for your domain name registration. 

What You Should Do?

If you've already sent a payment, we suggest you contact your 
bank or credit card company regarding your options 
of having payment stopped or reversed. 

Stop The Transfer 
Contact your registration service provider and find out 
what the status of the domain is. Your registrar should be able 
to reject the transfer if it has not already been done. Please note: 
Once you've cancelled the current transfer, it will likely be submitted again. 
You will need to take further steps to ensure the transfer does not succeed.

Lock The Domain  
If your domain has not been transferred, ask your 
registry to lock the domain. This will prevent 
further requests to transfer from working.

Get Your Money Refunded 
If you have paid by check, write to the company that you sent 
payment to demand a refund. If you paid by credit card and are 
unable to get a response regarding a refund, you can contact 
the issuing bank for your credit card to dispute the charge.

If you are a CVC Internet member and would like us to check 
the status of your domain, please send an e-mail to office@cvc.net  
or call (541) 884-5488 (during business hours). We'll be able to 
check the status of your domain and advise you.

Filing  A Complaint Online 

File a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (FBI)
The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) is a 
partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 
and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).

IFCC's mission is to address fraud committed over the Internet. 
For victims of Internet fraud, IFCC provides a convenient and 
easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities 
of a suspected criminal or civil violation.

Reporting mail fraud
It's against the law to send mail that looks like an 
invoice and not have it marked clearly as a solicitation.   
If you would like to file a complaint with the 
USPS online, you can do so by following this link.

Filing a complaint with the FTC
You can also file a complaint with the Federal 
Trade commission at FTC online complaint form.

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