Domain Name Pressure Selling Scam

[The Dent Guy]

Hi guys and gals.

Just thought I should warn you about a scam which was attempted on me today.

Basically, an internet services or domain name registration company call you up and inform you that an undisclosed third party (unamed due to some offical sounding information act) has ordered multiple domain names which are similar to yours with different endings or are hyphenated versions etc. and that they are contacting you to see if it is a problem for you and is it ok to go ahead with the order with the other buyer. They warned me it might be malicious as the other party is in the same county and are attempting to do a 10 year registration on 6 variations of my domain.

Of course the aim is to get you worried about business competition and sell you the domains instead of selling to the "third party".

I was initially alarmed because last year i had to register my business name and logo as trade marks due to a copycat company starting up using my biz name and replicating all the written info from my website.

So, after taking down all the details from this company, the chap said that he needed a decision asap or he would sell the domains to the unamed third party.

Well - i realised soon after that out of the 6 new domains, i already own 2 of them and another 2 are already registered a long time ago.

And the one off fee he wanted for selling to me.......... £600 !!

Sounds obvious now - but at the time i was very concerned but also suspicious.

 

[Antharro]

I get these for one of the companies I work for - so does that company's MD, who just forwards them on to me. Ours typically originate from Hong Kong - not sure why. Either way, I just see them as spam and tend to ignore them.

 

[Dieselman]

Phone back and ask about buying the ones you already own...

 

[The Dent Guy]

This was a phone call - not an email.

Anyway, under the advice of a friend of mine who works for Trading Standards, Im going to report this (Manchester based) company to Consumer Direct in the morning.

I've since googled this type of scam and it appears to be VERY luctrative, with the potential for conning at least £100k.

 

[Mudster]

I nearly fell for this about a year ago....did a bit of research and found the scam as described above.

 

[laf]

This is quite an old scam, you may also come across companies sending what looks like renewal invoices out for domain names and if you pay, they transfer the domain to there control and then can invoice what they like the next time around.

Name and shame this company, I work for a Manchester based hosting company so would be interested to know who this.

Neil

 

[Spinal]

I'm curious though - if the domains aren't registered, what stops one from registering while on the phone with the chap (with the registrar of your choice) then seeing if they will sell you the domains you already own

I get alot of "renewal notices" a few months before my domains are due from various registrars, a few in the US as well! Postage surely can't be cheap! (that's why I adove hostmonster, they conceal your address for you! sad that they don't do .co.uk domains...)

M.

 

[ringway]

They tried it on me around 3 months ago. (sussed it after about 30 seconds of talking to the woman trying to worry me).

I said go ahead and let them register the domains, I don't care!
She said "OK it's your loss". "Fine" I said.

What you then do is this.
Don't put down the phone, this leaves both lines open!
It is great to hear them "click clicking" at the other end trying to clear the line so they can badger some poor unsuspecting person.

Depending what mood I'm in, depends how long I leave the line blocked.

Next time I might make up a few call centre style messages whilst they are waiting for the line to clear.

(Humming Greensleeves)
My call is very important to you........
I am currently number 1 in the queue and an operator will be with me shortly....

(Humming Greensleeves)

Don't give anyone your PIN, I did this in the Hand Grenade Department in Tesco and it caused a lot of problems....

If you want some marijuanna please press the hash key..

 

[Antharro]

I had a chat with a BT engineer about how a call is disconnected.

The call should terminate when the calling party hangs up. If the receiving party hangs up, the call will remain active for up to 20 minutes before being disconnected by the local exchange.

The only exception to that is if the receiving party is on a mobile phone and they hang up - that will disconnect the call and the caller will hear the standard "disconnect" tone.

If neither the caller or the receiver hang up, then you can stay on the phone until they figure it out and hang up! (Kinda obvious, that one).

 

[ringway]

I had a chat with a BT engineer about how a call is disconnected.

The call should terminate when the calling party hangs up. If the receiving party hangs up, the call will remain active for up to 20 minutes before being disconnected by the local exchange.

The only exception to that is if the receiving party is on a mobile phone and they hang up - that will disconnect the call and the caller will hear the standard "disconnect" tone.

If neither the caller or the receiver hang up, then you can stay on the phone until they figure it out and hang up! (Kinda obvious, that one).

If you called me and put down the phone and I don't put down the phone you will not be able to make a call until I put down the phone at my end.

You can hear the other caller trying to clear the line to no avail.
Quite what the time limit is though, I'm unsure.

Next time you get a nuisance call, try it out. It works:bannana:

 

[WLeg]

I THINK Antharro is correct, when refering to regular phone lines.
And I THINK Ringway is correct when refering to VoIP calls.