Domain renewal scams

We’re seeing a lot of domain renewal scams at the moment and advise you to take care.

These come in two forms, by email or by regular post. The fake renewal notices usual suggest that your domain name needs renewing.  They usually are well designed with a professional look to them to convince you that it is genuine.

Types of domain renewal scams

We usually see 3 different types of scams.

1. An invoice from a third party domain registrar designed to trick you into moving your domain name to another organisation,
2. Fake domain renewal notices to sell you unnecessary services such as directory listing or search engine optimisation, or
3. Renewal notices for similar domains names to your existing domain name. This is to sell you domains you don’t need. A variation is an email suggesting that someone else wants to buy a similar domain name to yours.

There is even the possibility that some of these scams are really just “phishing” for your credit card or bank details.

Here is a recent email we received. Though the subject was “internetguruhq.com Expiration” and it was from “Domain Expiration”, when you read the email you can see it is for a software product.

 

What if I’m unsure about a renewal letter?

You should develop the habit of being proactive about your domain name renewals as your domain name is an important asset. Quality domain names are hard to replace if lost or stolen.

• Keep copies of any documentation related to your original domain purchase.
• Store the login details of your domain name registrar in a safe place.
• Put a renewal reminder in your diary/calendar.
• Renew via the web site of your domain name registrar, not via links in an email, and especially not via a paper form that came in the post.
• Lock your domain if your registrar allows it. This will prevent the domain from being transferred to another registrar .
• If you are unsure about the validity of a renewal letter or email, then contact your registrar or web developer to confirm it is from them.

I’ve received a renewal from Web Necessities, how do I know it is real?

All our domain renewals notifications come from the email address accounts@webnecessities.com.au and that all renewals are processed via the web addresses http://webnecessities.partnerconsole.net/ or https://www.webnecessities.com.au/shop/customer.php . We do not send reminders by post, so if the renewal doesn’t match these attributes, there is a good chance that it is fake.

I think I’ve fallen for a domain renewal scam, what can I do?

If you have fallen for a domain scam then you need to block the payment immediately.  Contact you bank or credit card provider and put a stop on any payments.

If you suspect it was a “phishing” attempt you may need to change your bank login details or cancel your credit card.

There may be an attempt to move your domain name to another domain registrar. Do not approve any transfer requests if you receive an email requesting your approval.

Log into your domain registrar and lock your domain.

Can you help me recover from a domain scam?

Yes. We have helped many people recover from a domain renewal scams plus we have assisted in blocking fraudulent transfers. We can also help recover domains once they have been transferred.

Even in the worst cases where the domain has been lost or stolen, we have helped customers restore their online presence with an alternative domain name and web hosting. We can also assist to fix Google ranking through link recovery strategies that restore lost back links to your site.

If you would like our help then contact us through our help desk.