Domain Scammers Start Calling

Just about anyone who has registered a domain has probably gotten one of those phony renewal notices from scammers who try to trick you into sending them a check. And perhaps everyone’s gotten wise to those letters, because one reader reports he just got a phone call from someone trying to pull a similar stunt.

“I run about twenty websites, and I am used to getting a few ‘renewal’ invoices for the domain names from companies that we don’t use when it gets close to renewal time,” the reader wrote. “They look like bills, but actually they are just trying to scam people who worry about losing the domain names — that is nothing new. However, today, I got a phone call from ‘Domain Name Services’ telling me that one of my domains was expiring today, that I had ignored their bills, and that if I didn’t renew it over the phone right now, we would lose the domain name.”

Fortunately, the reader was pretty certain he had already renewed the domain the caller was claiming he was about to lose. “While I was on the phone, I went to the website of the company we use for domain names, SeamlessPlanet.com, and I confirmed that I did renew it recently. So I asked the caller for his name and phone number so I could call him back with the credit card information, but he didn’t want to give it to me. I wonder why.”

The reader confirms that the phone number the scammer called is the one in the Whois listings for that domain. “Yes, I think those Whois listings cause more spam than they are worth. It’s bad enough when they send you those phony renewal notices in the mail, but this is really low.”

Have you been the target of an Internet scam that we should all know about? Call the Gripe Line at 1 888 875-7916 or write me at Foster@gripe2ed.com and make your voice heard.

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