In an earlier post I wrote about electronic domain name renewals and why it’s important to have a company manage your domain names on your behalf. Unfortunately over the years various clients have been burnt by the increasingly convincing domain name scams.

Most people know what a spam email looks like, and business owners don’t usually get caught by these. It’s the paper scams delivered to you in your real mailbox that get people. You’re busy, and it just looks like another bill.

There’s two major types of scams:

1. Domain Renewals
   A company will attempt to have you transfer your domain name to their control and renew it on your behalf. These renewals scams most frequently look like an invoice, and threaten that your domain will expire and you’ll lose it if you don’t act quickly.
2. Similar Domains
   The scam company will send you a letter that looks like a domain renewal invoice, but is actually a very close match of your existing domain name. For instance, if you own cityofcairns.com, they might send you an invoice for cityofcairns.net. Note the alternate extension.

Here’s some things you can do and watch for to avoid getting caught.

Have your Domains Managed by a Company

This means that if an invoice turns up in your letterbox from a company you haven’t heard of, you can safely dispose of it. Become familiar with your domain management company’s logo so you can easily identify legitimate invoices.

Look Carefully at the Letter

Is your correct domain name actually listed as the on invoice? Also have a good look at the company details, as scam letters are often generated from a foreign entity.

If in doubt fax through the questionable correspondence to your domain management, web hosting or web design company and ask them what you should do.

Have you ever been domain scammed? Let us know your experiences.