There seems to be a cottage industry in domain scams. Every few months these scams come to the fore and we hear about them either directly from our clients or from other industry sources.
Today’s scammer company is calling itself “The Internet Registry Office”, who supposedly have a Dublin office, although the number supplied (+44 8700613474) is a UK number. If you are bored ring them and ask for “Corry” who supposedly looks after the Dublin “office”.
How does it work?
The usual method is to call a company and tell them that their company name is at risk unless they register it immediately.
In some cases they will go so far as to suggest that another company or individual is trying to register it and that they must act fast to protect themselves.
Another derivative is to tell the victim that their domain could be hijacked by porn merchants.
What’s the catch?
It’s nice little earner. Most of these “companies” will demand a 10 year domain registration for upwards of £20 sterling per annum. At current exchange rates £200 sterling is nearly €300. If you consider that most companies registering domain names in bulk pay in the region of €8 (or less) per annum a 10 year registration could cost them approximately €80, giving them a tidy profit of €220 per domain per victim.
Of course these “charmers” are not happy with merely coercing their victims into registering one domain, but will more likely push for several at a time.
Is it illegal?
Not really. It is not ethical and it gives the industry as whole a bad name.
Who should I contact about this?
Your hosting provider or ISP. Of course I’d be more than happy if you contacted us 🙂
