The Big, Giant Ethic Fail: Domain Slamming – Avoid being the Victim of this Scam.

Domain slamming is an old trick developed by scammers that keeps evolving and getting harder to suss out. But if you’ve ever experienced the panic of a scammy email, you’re not alone.

Over the last 20 years of being in business building websites, we’ve seen a whole heap of scams come through our inboxes. It’s discouraging to say the least. But lately, some of our clients have been getting the same treatment, and now it’s personal.

Of our many core values at Cevado, to LOVE & PROTECT OUR CLIENTS is at the top of the list. So when we see other companies using unethical tactics, we want you to know whether these companies are indeed fraudulent.

You may have run into some of these as well. Right now I have one of these scammy letters on my desk forwarded from a long­time client. This boils my blood, folks. Companies that say your domain is going to expire soon when it isn’t. What this is is called domain slamming.

Domain slamming is a form of scam in which an internet service provider (ISP) or domain name registrar attempts to trick customers of different companies into switching from their existing ISP/registrar to the scamming ISP/registrar, under the pretense that the customer is simply renewing their subscription to their old ISP/registrar.

Okay, that was jargony, let me sum it up. Some guy who looks like a legit company writes to you and says, “holy shit! Your domain is going to expire and you’ll lose your site unless you pay us!” And if you pay them, they take your site and it’s gone.

 

Avoid being a victim of a scam as a real estate agent or broker

 

 

Still unclear? Let’s try this. They do not want to protect or enhance your website: They want your money.

One such company is called iDNS (Internet Domain Name Services). We have received many calls from concerned clients, asking “Is iDNS a legitimate company?” or “Is iDNS a scam?”

What we say is yes. To put it shortly, iDNS is a scam. They are sending people a false invoice that tells you your domain will expire unless you renew it immediately with them. Again, if you do this, you will lose your website and domain name entirely.

Here are a few more companies that have tried to pull the same kind of scam. I’m not just throwing these companies under the bus, either. (To prove it, and to flex my journalism muscles, each company is linked to a credible article that highlights the ethical infractions done by each scammer.)

Domain Registry of America

National Domain Name Registry

Domain Renewal SA

Domain Renewal Group

Internet Listing Service

The list goes on…just a minute ago I got an email from Jenn, the owner of Cevado. “JUST GOT THIS ONE!!!” the subject line read.

Here’s what the email looks like:

Dear Scam Target,

This letter is to inform you that it’s time to send in your search engine registration for

[blahblahblah.com]. Failure to complete your search engine registration by 05/31/16 may result in the

cancellation of this offer (making it difficult for your customers to locate you using search

engines on the web).

Your registration includes search engine submission for [blahblahblah.com] for 1 year. You

are under no obligation to pay the amount stated above unless you accept this offer by. This

notice is not an invoice. It is a courtesy reminder to register for search engine listing so that

your customers can locate you on the web.

I looked up the email address and it led to a German air rifle club website. Your guess is as good as mine.

It’s never ending, folks. Seriously…

…but there’s hope.

The best thing you can do to avoid being duped is to check out the company. Give them a Google and maybe ask “Is {the company in question} a scam?” or check to see if they are rated on the Better Business Bureau’s website.

Before you dole out any money to some rando, make sure to contact your web hosting company and, if you have one, your website designer. Or you can ask us. Hell, you don’t have to be a client. We just want your business to be as successful as possible without having to worry about internet creeps like the scam Domain Renewal Group or the scam Domain Registry of America.

So when I say “be careful out there” like a mother, it’s because there’s a lot of scammy stuff out there. There are companies that aren’t the most credible, reliable, or ethical.