Domain Name Registry Scam

The bastards are on the loose again.  You know, the CREEPS  who send you a very official looking “invoice” regarding your domain name registration.   Obviously a LOT of people fill in the form because it looks so damned official.  I’m a “professional” and I have to admit, if I didn’t know better… I’d sign it as well.

It’s bad enough that you have to worry about security online… now you have to guard yourself off line as well.  It’s a form of snail mail domain name phishing.

In case you don’t know, here’s the scoop.   In the fine print it is written that by signing this form you’re authorizing the  transfer of your domain name to THEIR service.  Want to point your DNS to another hosting program.  TOO BAD!  You can’t.  Want to transfer your domain name… can’t do that either… you signed away those rights.

I’ve gotten two emails this week from clients asking about the letters they’ve received via snail mail regarding this scam.

“But I thought my domain name was registered through you?”

My reply, “It is and will be unless you fill out that form and send it in.  Then all bets are off.”

In case you can’t tell, one of my clients made that mistake a few years back.  I don’t think we ever got control of the domain name back.

It INFURIATES me when some slimy bastard tries to use FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) to make a buck.

Well, obviously the scam isn’t working so well anymore, so the slimy bastards have hired a call center to telemarket their service.

I got just such a call this morning.  “Hello.  I’m from Domain Name Registration Services and you will be getting a notice in the mail about changes to your domain name account.”

“Why will I be getting that?” I asked.

“Uh, because there are changes in your domain name registration account,” she replied.

“Why?” I asked again because I can be a horse’s ass sometimes.

She started stumbling so badly it was literally incoherent jibberish.  I began thinking of the dear, sweet woman who wrote to me earlier this week and thought about how different this phone call would be if she were in my place.   That visualization set me off and with that,  I let loose on that poor telemarketer.

You know you’ve reached a new low when a telemarketer hangs up on you.

IF YOU DON’T KNOW ALREADY:

• Don’t click on links in emails regarding your domain name .  Go to  the web site where you registered your domain name and renew it.
• If you didn’t register your domain name via snail mail, don’t respond to snail mail messages regarding your domain name.
• Your domain name registrar will NOT be phoning you about your domain name… even if you haven’t paid the bill.

By the way, these rules apply to your CREDIT CARD, YOUR BANK and YOUR PAYPAL accounts as well!!!

It’s only classified as paranoia if they ARE NOT out to get you.

Who owns your web site?

Yet another less for the “Web Based Horror Stories” file.

Way back in 2003, Bill (not his real name) hired a company to create a web presence for his brand new business. Bill wasn’t real web savvy, so he was grateful when his developer took care of everything for him. His web developer registered the desired domain name for him, built the site and hosted it for him. All was well for a while…. then, Bill wanted to make changes to his site.  He called, he emailed, he wrote but his requests to his web developer went unreturned and unacknowledged.

As his frustration mounted, he took a class with my colleague. My colleague offers teleseminars on web marketing and during the class Bill learned about Word Press blogs. He learned that with a self-hosted Word Press blog that he could have it all. He could have an attractive web presence that was easy to update and maintain without having to contact his web developer every time he wanted to add content or change current content on his web site.

He contacted his web developer. He wanted to move his site.  He wanted to use the same domain he had been using for years to promote his business and he wanted to use key images as well.  That is when his horror story began.

Bill’s web developer replied quickly to this request.  The web developer informed Bill that he didn’t own the copyright to the site, they did. (Intellectual property must be transferred in writing and since Bill never signed a development contract with the web developer, they were right. It was still technically THEIR web site.)

More bad news, the helpful developer had registered the domain name in THEIR name. Not only did Bill not own the web site he’d paid to have developed, he didn’t own the domain name either. The four year old domain name could have provided a nice launch pad for Bill’s new blog… but he didn’t own or have rights to the domain name.

Believe me, I UNDERSTAND the temptation to just register everything in my name . It would be SO much easier not only for me, but for the client as well. However, it’s times like these when I want to point out to MY clients why I “force” them to go through the indignities of registering their own domain name.

Bill finds himself starting from scratch all over again with the whole web development process. His content… lost. His domain name… was never his.

Who owns your web site?  Who is listed as the administrative contact on YOUR domain name?  Did you sign a contract with your web developer?  Does it transfer ownership of the content of your site to you in writing?

I’ve heard it said that business savvy is acquired through experience.  Why is it that experience is most instructive when it’s most DESTRUCTIVE?