Heads Up - Domain Scam Alert

We have been contacted by several of our clients who have received letters from Domain Renewal Group.

These letters are NOT genuine.

DO NOT act on them.

Please bin them.

Example letter below:
You’ll notice that the prices they mention are significantly higher than what we charge

About the Author: Michele Neylon

Known for his outspoken opinions on technology and the Internet, Michele Neylon is the award winning author of several blogs and co-host of the Technology.ie podcast. A thought leader in the Internet community, Neylon is active within ICANN and an expert on policy, security, domains, ICANN, Nominet and Internet Governance. You can stalk him on various social media networks including Twitter and Instagram

5 Comments

Alan May 9, 2009 at 14:05

Thanks Michele, I’ve received 3 now and yes the prices are ridiculous!
Michele Neylon May 9, 2009 at 14:08

Alan
Unfortunately some people will be duped, but the more awareness we can raise about this kind of scam the better
Michele
dan tynan May 25, 2009 at 14:02

this is a very old scam, at least here in the US. (I first wrote about this back in 2002, I think, and it was old then.) the FTC has intervened in at least one case, though that company is still sending these things out. note the “this is not a bill” language — that and a couple of other things make this technically legal, which is why they’re still sending them.
see http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/12/domainreg.shtm
thanx for the alert, michelle. this is something that simply can’t be repeated often enough.
cheers,
dt
Johnathan May 25, 2009 at 14:02

I’ve got a few of these, didn’t know they were scams but they were asking £30 and stuff to renew a .org. With those prices do they actually get anyone paying them to renew?
Michele Neylon May 25, 2009 at 14:07

Dan
It’s an old scam, but it’s still active. The DROA ones just renamed themselves as far as I can make out.
Our clients get hit with this once every few months. They even sent me one of the letters today 🙂
In Europe they’ve managed to avoid the law by moving stuff around, though it’s more a case of them misleading people than anything else ie. the small print is tiny
Hopefully if we keep repeating it enough it will save people some money and headaches
Thanks for taking the time to comment
Michele