Domain Registry Rights – They’re Trying To Get You To Register the .us Version Of Your Domain Name
September 8th, 2008Like many of my blog articles, this one comes as a result of a client asking me to look into a suspicious correspondence received concerning their website. In this particular case, my client received a fax from a company called “Domain Registry Rights”. The fax was chock full of legal-speak, with scary words like “protecting a domain registrant” and poorly written warnings like “you are required to advise the domain notification processor of you intent to license this name or the expiration of this notice”. Very scary stuff, even with the grammatical errors.
(UPDATE: Due to the huge response to this post, I wanted to tell folks how to check their domain name expiration date: Go to: http://whois.domaintools.com/ and enter your domain name. If someone tells you your domain name is going to expire, don’t take their word for it, verify this yourself with this free, easy tool.)
So I looked up this company, Domain Registry Rights, they had a website that was all about protecting domain registrations. I called the phone number 1-800-690-1269, and got a recording that oddly, didn’t even mention the company name, but simply told me the hours of operation and hung up.
I read the fax carefully again and also consulted with my favorite trademark attorney. It appears that this might be a legitmate company, however the way they attempt to confuse and trick folks into registering the .us version of their domain names is quite unethical, in my opinion.
There are many different domains available. Most of us have .com or .net or .org, and there many others out there as well. Apparently .us is one of them, and this company is trying very hard to scare folks into purchasing the .us version of their domain name, which is really not necessary for most small businesses.
So if you get one of these notices, rest assured it has nothing to do with the domain name you currently own. They’re simply trying to get you to buy “yourdomainname.us” and nothing more.
And if you’ve received one of these notices and were scared and confused, I’d love to hear from you too and what you think of this tactic.
If this whole domain name issue has you wanting to read more on the topic, please read “Crazy Domain Insane” by Josh over at DreamHost.com. It’s funny and enlightening and just a bit infuriating.
UPDATE: A reader of my blog alerted me to the existance of a law in Washington State that forbids sending spam by fax. The law is RCW 80.36.540 Telefacsimile messages – Unsolicited transmission – Penalties. The law states:
“No person, corporation, partnership, or association shall initiate the unsolicited transmission of telefacsimile messages promoting goods or services for purchase by the recipient.”
The law goes further to state:
A violation of this section is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW. Damages to the recipient of telefacsimile messages in violation of this section are five hundred dollars or actual damages, whichever is greater.
So for those of you in Washington State, here’s a link to the Attorney General. For those of you getting these faxes in other states, you may also have laws that prevent this kind of fax spam, and it might be worthwhile to keep your faxes and send them to your Attorney General. Wouldn’t be be great if, together, we could stop this practice?
UPDATE: A blog reader has given me a copy of the fax she received to post in my blog in order that others can easily identify this spam fax (click to enlarge to see details):
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J. Olkoski
Aldebaran Web Design, Seattle
Jill Olkoski has a BS in Engineering, a BS in Computer Science and an MA in Clinical Psychology. She delights in using her advanced technical, psychological and interpersonal skills to help small business owners develop cost-effective and successful websites.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
Voted One Of The Best Seattle Website Design Companies
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:49 am
I received the same fax. Thank you for putting the info up. 815.943.6930. So, would I be correct in doing nothing?
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:03 am
Hi Jim,
If you don’t wish to purchase the “.us” version of your domain name, yes, you can simply do nothing.
October 15th, 2008 at 6:28 am
I also received the fax. I contacted my webmaster and she found your blog. I had decided before reading your article that the fax was trash but did not connect the .us part. Thank you for the clarification. The fax has hit the trash.
October 15th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Hi Myra,
Glad to be of assistance.
It’s always a good idea to check with your webmaster first – you did the right thing
October 15th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Got the same fax today, too. Phone number also appears to be an AKA for Domain Solutions Central, AKA for Domain Notification Center. Put the street address in your favorite search engine and get ready to read!
My version of the fax did not include the info that .us was included; just my domain name without extension.
If you feel like filling out a complaint, here’s a link:
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
October 15th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Hi Kim,
Thanks very much for the comment and the complaint link!
November 6th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Awesome Post! Thanks for blogging about this. My account team just handed me the FAX and I already assumed it was trash. IF it’s not from my registrar, I really don’t care. Important info comes to via phone or snail mail. However, I did read the FAX and easily could see how the the Legal-ese wording could cause a business manager to unwarranted action.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the comment and glad you found this helpful. It’s nice to know blogging about these kinds of things is helping folks out.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I’m so glad you posted this blog. I received an email titled “Attention to: [my full name] Please note this is your final notice of domain extension”
That sounded awfully spammy. All my contact information was the very outdated information available on WHOIS. But the fact they included a phone number and a lot of contact information for themselves worried me. Until I Googled it and came across your blog.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Hi Madeline,
I do believe they get the information from the WHOIS, which is why it’s a good idea to have your WHOIS information private. Many domain registrars now let you set up your domains this way – it’s a good idea.
December 4th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I recieved the fax today. Found your site and another about this scam…in short thank you!
December 8th, 2008 at 7:17 am
HI, just recieved this fax and glad that I searched to find your article. This is under-handed and I think it is unethical as well. It was devised to make you believe that your domain name was expiring and someone could take it from you if you did not register it with them immediately. WRONG….in the trash now as well!
Thanks
December 8th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Hi Mark – I completely agree, totally unethical and glad you found my article – the trash is appropriate!
December 10th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Thanks for the information. I received one of these notices today and it stated it was the third and final notice but I didn’t remember getting the first two. I thought it was suspicious since I just renewed my domain name.
Again, thanks for looking into it.
December 10th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Hi Yvonne,
Glad to help – it’s a shame when a company has to resort to tricking people to get business, isn’t it?
December 15th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Ha! I knew it was a scam. Thanks for clarifying this. Like Yvonne I received a “Final Notice” but did not get any prior notices.
December 17th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I too got the “Final Notice” fax, with no reference to a .us name. Called Network Solutions (my registrar) to report it and complain about the fax containing my WHOIS info, in spite of having private registration on all three of our web sites. No explanation for that! In addition to filing a complaint on the link you blogged, any of us in Washington State should report this unethical behavior to state officials. Any suggestions about who we should contact?
December 17th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Hi Don,
I am surprised that you got sent this when you had your domain registrations private – and Network Solutions couldn’t tell you how they got it? Very disturbing.
I have no idea who to contact in Washington State – but on occasion I’ve called the Department of Revenue and always gotten helped – maybe they would know.
December 17th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Thanks, Jill for posting this. An attorney I did a website for got this fax and called me in a panic. I googled the company name since I couldn’t make sense of the fax and found your site. Very helpful.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Hi Joanne,
I think panic is just what these folks are trying to achieve – panic and then a domain purchase. Good job checking first!
December 30th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Thank you for posting. I received the fax from Domain Registry Rights on 12/30/2008. I was puzzled about the fax, so I search the web to find out more about the company. I am so glad to see your posting from the web search. Now I can throw the fax into trash. Great Help.
January 16th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Been on business trip to east coast, I am from California, and found the “last notice” fax on my desk when I retruned. I had just completed re-regristration a few weeks prior so was suprised to see this notice, but it did not ring true. Googled it, and found your site, thank you very much! Relief to find your words that I was not the only one to find this misleading fax. Tom
February 5th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Hi Jill:
Thank you for posting about Domain Registry Rights. We received the fax and I knew that our domain was good for another 6 years but my bosses were worried so I decided to check the internet and found you. So glad I did.
Aloha and Mahalo,
Grace
February 5th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Aloha Grace!
Very glad you found my post and found it helpful. Getting those faxes are definitely causing folks concern, which I believe is exactly their purpose.
February 12th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
I received this fax this morning from “Domain Registry Rights” 2/12/09 They pull their information from your “Whois it” . First I noticed the “Final Notice”. It appeared pasted each section, kinda made up run into jibberish. I quickly logged onto my DirectNic account…thinking well…it’s been awhile I better check my renewal time. These people claim I better call them before 2/12/09 or my domain name will be purchased , and assigned to another applicant. Well low and behold I won’t be up for renewal until 2011. Then I went cruisin…found your website! Thanks for making my day, and reassuring me there’s always going to be _ _ _ holes out there trying to scam us! Live Laugh Learn! Kat
February 12th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Hi…wow…what a relief to find your post. I got the fax today and called number – they were closed – like you I got the message saying operating hours but no company. I read and honestly thought I had somehow neglected to renew my domain name and the registering company was telling me they were going to hold me hostage to buy it back. Who has time to take care of all these details??? Thank you Jill…you saved me alot of heartburn!!! This tactic is despicable.
February 13th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Hi Camille,
It certainly is despicable – that’s a great description. I’m just glad you didn’t “renew” (purchase) your domain name from this company. It’s awful that Domain Registry Rights is using this deception to trick people. Very glad you found this post helpful.
February 17th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Thank you for providing the clarity. You are providing a very nice benefit to those you don’t know. Well done!
February 25th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Thank you so much for posting this info. I got the fax too, and went to my domain registrar to play it safe. Finding your blog post further reassured me – especially since they had my info on it. Thanks again
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:58 am
Jill,
I received a very official looking fax from DRR on 3/3/09 about my domain name. Decided to check it out on the internet first. Thanks for article. The fax is now shredded.
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Hi John – Shredding is certainly appropriate. I wish Domain Rights Registry would stop using this marketing technique!
March 5th, 2009 at 6:37 am
Internet is wonderful as a forum with people sharing experineces like this. I got the fax that info@mywebsite was now avaialable for registartion, it looked like a scam and was going to shred it but then I though I’d better check on the internet and now it is confirmed as a scam. Thank you Jill for your good work and service.
March 10th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
i just called them again and confronted them about trying to scam me after they LIED the first time and said it was not “.us”, but “.com” and that “.us” was simply identifying me as an American. LOL. he then said my domain (.com) was past expiration and i had to pay $300 over the phone to keep it. i KNEW this did not sound right. i went to whois.com and saw that our domain does not expire until 2012. i told him i would blast him on the net and he hung up in my face.
March 10th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Hi Teresa,
Wow, that’s awful! But I congratulate you for confronting them – although I’m sorry to hear they hung up on you.
But your comment has me thinking that I should add to the top of my original article a way to tell how folks to check their domain registration status by using WHOIS – and I’ll make that change now. Many folks might not know as much as you did and might get tricked. Again, I’m really sorry for your experience and thank you for sharing it here so that others can be helped.
March 11th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Jill, thanks so much for posting info about this “Domain Registry Rights” scam. I got a fax today from these creeps, and it didn’t strike me as right (especially when I saw the .us) but we no longer have a webmaster so I was vulnerable. Thought a little internet search was in order, and was so relieved to find your article. Thanks!! Saved me a lot of headache, and possibly a lot of time and money.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
They have corrected many of the spelling errors but the letter is still the same. This is the new way to get a business to pay for something they don’t need. Even now and then I still get something from THE YELLOW PAGES, a scam so bad they were forced to actually print on the “invoice” “THIS IS NOT A BILL”. Thank you for this foum. It’s nice to keep others alert to folks who will try to take their money by fear. Now if I could just figuer out what to do with that case of toner I bought over the phone because “prices were going up…”- HA! All the best, Ken
March 12th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
We got the same letter. When we called the number the rude person said it was $300 to license the site for 5 years and $350 to license it for 10 years.
I asked him what was the difference between licensing and registering and he hung up on me.
Then coincidently, I guess, our .com site went crazy. We are not techy so bear with me.
We stopped getting our email as of today and started to check with our hosting company. They had servers down and not one they said that would effect us.
Then they told me that our domain expired. We thought it was registered with our hosting company and they said it was registered with CORE. We have never heard of CORE. Do not remember ever paying them or anything.
When I looked up whois on the 10th of March the status on the domain was “OK” and the expiration was 2-18-2010. When we looked on whois again on the 11th, the record had just been updated and the status was “redemption period” and the expiration was 2-18-09.
No our hosting company is saying there is NOTHING we can do.
Does anyone understand any of this?
How could our domain be registered at a place we’ve never heard of? A place we’ve never made payment to? And how, over the course of one day, could the expiration date get shortened by one year
We hope one of you smart people can help us with this
March 12th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Hi Karen,
I’ve never heard of CORE, this is all I could find: http://corenic.org/CORE_FAQ
They’re not domain registrars, but a non-profit organization of registrars. Doesn’t make sense that they’d be listed.
It seems like you could review your credit card or other payment records to figure out who you have been paying your domain registration fees to – whether it’s indeed your hosting company, or another company. I’ve never heard of this happening and it’s awfully suspicious. Since you didn’t mention your hosting company’s name, I can’t comment on their reputation.
But for a hosting company to say there is nothing you can do – well, it seems like that’s not at all true. Even if worst case someone has bought your domain name, it seems like that is clearly cyber squatting and you could take legal action to get it back if it reflects the name of your business.
The only way I can tell that you’d pay one domain registrar and another name show up, would be if there was some reselling going on, but that wouldn’t account for the sudden change in date – unless it’s some kind of mistake. Have you contacted CORE to find out what’s going on?
Looked up the message you were seeing in status:
REDEMPTIONPERIOD: The registry sets this status when a registrar requests that the domain name be deleted from the registry and the domain has been registered for more than 5 calendar days (if the delete request is received within 5 days of initial domain registration it will instead be deleted immediately). The domain will not be included in the zone. The domain can not be modified or purged; it can only be restored. Any other registrar requests to modify or otherwise update the domain will be rejected. The domain will be held in this status for a maximum of 30 calendar days.
More info on CORE:
CORE Association
INTERNET COUNCIL OF REGISTRARS
World Trade Center II
29, route de Pré-Bois CH-1215
Geneva, Switzerland
Phone: +41.22.929 57 44
Fax: +41.22.929 57 45
e-mail: secretariat@corenic.org
CORE Swiss VAT ID: CH 686 867
The correspondance regarding domain disputes should be sent to domain.disputes@corenic.org
The correspondance related to the registrar transfers should be sent to registrar.transfers@corenic.org
March 13th, 2009 at 9:48 am
I just had a reader inform me that sending spam via fax is illegal in Washington State (I’m in Seattle) and so I’ve updated the original post with this information, links to the law, and links to the Attorney General. If you are in a different state, maybe it’s worth saving the fax and forwarding it to your Attorney General to see if you can lend a hand in stopping this awful practice. With the recession, it’s the least we can do to help fellow small business owners.
March 17th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Guess I’m the only idiot out there. Got the fax, called, asked about the .us and was told that it was just to verify that I was a US company. Figured my domain name was probably going to expire soon so I gave him my credit card and ordered up #300 worth of “Renewal”! It was bothering me a little so I looked on the net and found your info. and that my domain wasn’t expiring until Sept. of this year. I immediately called my CC company and then Domain Registry Rights. The man on the phone gave me a cancellation # and my CC company said that they will reverse it if he doesn’t. Don’t know what possesed me to pay first look later but THANK YOU!
March 17th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Hi Dee,
Oh no! Well, at least you found my blog and hopefully your credit card charges will be reversed and it will all work out OK in the end. Here’s hoping you get your money refunded!
March 19th, 2009 at 11:35 am
I just got this fax as well and knew it was spam when I read it. To confirm, I did a Google search of their phone number and ended up on your site. Thanks for the posting.
Sending spam faxes is illegal not just in Washington but also illegal according to federal law. I’m in Oregon and a few years ago I won a small claims court judgment against Fax.com and actually received $1500. Of course, I didn’t get anything for a couple of years and not until their business had some kind of problem due to that unsettled judgment against them.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Hi Peter,
So the lesson is, if you receive one of these faxes, you might be able to take them to small claims court, depending on your state – wouldn’t that be nice?
Thanks very much for this comment – maybe some folks out there will attempt to go after this company.
March 24th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Thanks so much for sharing all of these wonderful comments regarding “Domain Registry Rights”…I’m am so tired of trying to figure out who or what document is real and fake; this one is going into the trash!
April 1st, 2009 at 9:37 am
I received the fax just now and my first reaction was – Must be the April fool’s day prank. Then I knew ( as I pay the annual domain registration fee with my ISP) it was a fake but did a Google and came across your blog. very valuable information. Thanks a lot.
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:20 am
I received a fax today from “999-999-9999″ which was the first red flag. It was from Domain Registry Rights and it listed their street address as 130 Church St., Suite 280, New York, NY 10007. Both of their phone #’s are listed as 1-800-690-1269 & 212-671-1191. The letter showed to be a “Final Notice” with a reply deadline of 4-2-09, which is today! It did not have any misspelled words or inaccurate grammar, so I was concerned. The fact that they listed their street address and both phone #’s, made me wonder if it may be legitimate. I did notice at the top of the letter, it shows my domain name with the “.” at the end, but the “com” is missing. Same thing with my e-mail address. However, there is no “.us” listed anywhere in the letter.
I called them and a very nice, polite guy answered the phone. I asked a ton of questions. He asked for the tracking #, which was listed on the letter. He looked it up and said that I had applied for the license in 2006 and it was set to expire now. He said I can continue my license for 5 years @ $300 or 10 years @ $350. I asked him what he meant about the license. He explained that I had to have a license in order to continue with my web domain. I said that I had registered my domain name with another company. He said that I also had to have a license if I want to continue with my domain name. I kept asking questions and he said, “You don’t have to do anything. You can just disregard the letter.” I told him I was concerned about losing my domain name. He asked, “So are you notifying us of your intent to renew the license or are you releasing your first right to use preference?” I told him that I want to keep my domain name, but I didn’t know who they were and didn’t believe that I had registered for a license in 2006. He said I could go to ICANN.org and research this. When I asked if they were a govenment entity, he said goodbye and hung up.
I immediately called the company that I had registered my web domain with and told them about the letter and my phone call to Domain Registry Rights. He had never heard of a license for domain registry rights, so he googled it and found your article. Of course, I feel much better about ignoring the letter now that I know that it was a scam! I am going to contact the Attorney General in Texas and notify them of these extreme misrepresentation tactics! They need to be shut down! This is lying and stealing from innocent business owners, who are trying to make an honest living!
Thank you so much for taking the time to research this and posting this blog!
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:27 am
Hi Mary,
Thanks very much for all the detailed information – this really will help other people identify this fax and act accordingly. I too have contacted the State Attorney General (of Washington State where I live) to complain. I hope that others will do the same so we can collectively stop this kind of unethical business activity.
And to clarify, there is no “license” required in any aspect of website design. You “register” your domain name with a domain name registrar and then you pay a hosting company to host your website. I suppose you need a business license if you’re running a business, but the word “license” never ever comes up in website design. They are using this term, I presume, to frighten folks into paying the $300.
By the the way, even if they were charging $300 for 5 years of domain registration, this is way overpriced. Most domain name registrations cost $10 per year, so 5 years should be around $50, not $300.
Again, thank you so very much for sharing all the details of your experience, this is very helpful to other folks.
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:29 am
In addition to the posting I just sent in, I also have Private Registration Services on my account. I had not notified them of my new fax #, but our fax # is listed on my website. I believe this company must have obtained that information directly from my website, then faxed the disturbing letter to me.
Thanks again for your help!
Mary
April 7th, 2009 at 6:39 am
Thanks for the tip on the “Domain Registry Rights” fax. I recieved one today and your right it looks legit. I Googled “Domain Registry Rights and you were 2nd from the top. Thanks again for your help. It saved a lot of frustration.
Mike
April 7th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I got a fax today without cover sheet or return fax identifier. The return phone # was 800-690-1269.
It was a final notice about Domain Registry Rights expiring today.
I know for certain that my domain registration is valid for several years and that I have a company that maintains that for me.
Couldn’t stop myself so I called the number and questioned the “agent” – obviously a con artist and not very good. He said that they had emailed me several times (never happened)and that unless I renewed my domain with them today that another party was going to register it tomorrow. No supervisor was available and this idiot basically tried to threaten me.
The fax had the “.us” after the website name, not .com.
I pointed out that his fax was sent illegally and that I was forwarding the fax to the local police and FBI.
He immediately hung up.
I did a google search just to let people know about this but it appears that it has been handled in your blog.
As a side note, I keep all junk faxes for a month or so and then fax them all as a pile to my US congressman and both US senators with my request that existing legislation concerning these illegally transmitted faxes (no Fax # identifier / return fax number) be enforced. They have requested that I stop and I respond that they should deal with it.
John
April 8th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Hi John,
Thanks for sharing the details of your Domain Registry Rights fax and phone call. Perhaps you should forward them to your state attorney general – that’s what I did.
April 8th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Thank you for your posting. We received this fax this morning and after looking through our registry information and realizing our domain site was not expiring, I googled it and up came your blog. It is with the help of good people like you that we can weed through the bad apples. Thanks again for taking the time to research and post this information!
April 8th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Hi Lori,
Thanks for the positive feedback, and please do consider making a complaint to your state attorney general – I wish my blog article could somehow put an end to this unethical business practice.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I also want to thank you. We are in Nevada and had just renewed our domain name so the fax confused us.
May 13th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Unfortunately our company was stupid and paid it, then turned around the next day and canceled it, received a cancelation number from the individual on the phone, but the money never showed up. Now the bank says there is no way to prove fraud, so oh well, you loose, $350
May 13th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Ack, I’m so sorry to hear that. I thought that if you paid for something by credit card, you could challenge it somehow?
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:26 am
Thank you so much for this post. I just received this fax and came from a normal number but was a tiny bit suspicous. Thanks again!
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:27 am
Hi Katie,
Very glad you found it helpful! Thanks for leaving a comment
August 2nd, 2009 at 3:07 pm
well i think this is really great.
can anyone be a registrar and sell domains.
August 2nd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Hi gmpoint,
“really great” ?! Scam’s aren’t really great, they are terrible. If you wind up becoming a registrar and running a domain scam, I’ll be sure to post an article about your company on my blog to warn others. Not a good idea, even if you are far away in Tunisia. Surely there’s a better way to make a living in Tunisia than scamming people.
October 13th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Thanks for posting this! We got an email AND a fax this morning from a company with the same number, but going by the name of “US Domain Protection”. They gave us a “deadline” of today to respond to the “Final Notice” (although we had received no previous notices) or the domain name would be made available to the public. Which is fine. Since it’s not the same as ours anyways.
Thanks again!
October 13th, 2009 at 11:45 am
And thank you for the whois.domaintools.com link! Looked our site up there and our domain name doesn’t expire for another two years!
October 13th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Hi Angela,
It’s comments like yours that keep me writing articles like these. You’ve made my day!
October 26th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Just got this scam email today and my partner directed me to your site and info. Thanks for the great information!
October 28th, 2009 at 9:24 am
I’ll go one further. When I called the company, the gentleman (fyi, called twice and got the same gentleman) told me that we last paid in 2004! He actually implied that we previously purchased the domain name, currently still own it, and I was simply re-newing as our 5 years are up.