Annual Domain Listing Renewal Scam to Avoid

Protecting yourself online, tips for identifying and avoiding scams and fraudulent websites.

Annual Domain Listing Renewal Scam to Avoid

If you receive a domain renewal notice in the mail, it’s a scam. Domain renewal services do not send renewal notices through the mail. They always come in email. All domain renewals and purchases are completed online. The invoice will always be emailed to you. While you may have entered your physical address for billing purposes or for domain ownership verification, they never mailed you a physical copy of a renewal notice.

I have had a lot of clients contact me asking if they needed to pay the invoice that was sent to them and in some cases, they already sent out payment. Do not be a victim of this scam!

A couple of companies that I have seen notices for are:
Domain Networks domainnetworks.com

If you read carefully, you will see that the paper clearly states that this is a marketing service or a directory. In some very shady business dealings, I have even seen companies asking for authorization of your domain to be transferred to them. This is the worst possible case that could happen because if you transfer ownership to another party, they can charge you whatever they want to transfer back your domain.

Please be very careful with these notices. If you ever get one, don’t hesitate to call our office at 817-431-9861. We are more than happy to review it with you, free of charge, whether you are a current client or not.