North American Network Operators Group

Date Prev | Date Next | Date Index | Thread Index | Author Index | Historical

New? domain name registration scam

  • From: Chris Cappuccio
  • Date: Tue Jul 25 15:38:13 2000

There is a new company called "Electronic Domain Name Monitoring" which you
may get letters or faxes from... They read something like:

"*** FINAL NOTICE *** FINAL NOTICE ***

URGENT NOTICE OF IDENTICAL DOMAIN NAME APPLICATION BY A THIRD PARTY

Please be advised that the above noted domain name has been submitted for
registration, consequently, it is our opinion that this application may be
submitted in bad faith for one or more of the following reasons......"

Basically, this company becomes an affiliate to various hosting providers and
registration resellers, possibly even to Network Solutions itself, although I
was not able to get specific information.  It asks them to send it new
registration requests before they are approved.  It then notifies anyone with
a similar domain name or trade mark that the domain is being registered, and
if so, it asks the registrar to prevent the registration, and instead
registers the domain name with Network Solutions for the owner of the similar
domain name or trade mark holder.

Why is this a scam?

This company presents itself as an authority, and acts as if it has official
officers who are part of some team that regulates the Internet.  Instead it
just diverts registrations to Network Solutions!!! 

Short of saying it is a branch of the US government, they do a lot to make
themselves sound official on the phone.  The letter they send out looks
scary, using lots of legalese, or like a Publisher's Clearing House
sweepstakes joke, depending on how you read it.  

"In addition to remedies provided for by the Uniform Domain Name Dispute
Policy, Section 4a (1)(2)(3) & b (1)(2)(3)(4), EDNM provides existing
registrants, trademark and service mark owners with a first-right-to-use
preference on domain names which are identical or confusingly similar to
their own."

Now, I don't think notifying people in advance because their domain name is
being registered with a different extension and giving them the option to
take the new registration is fair, or even legitimate, but this topic is
already strecthing it for this mailing list.

--
"Should we now be comfortable with a 'trust us, we're the government'
approach?" he said. "I don't think anybody on this committee shares that
view."

-John Conyers, House Judiciary Committee