Domain Name Slamming
Today I received a notice in the mail claiming that my domain
name was about to expire. The letter was written in extremely
alarming terms, as if my entire world would be destroyed forever
if I was stupid enough to allow the name to expire. The letter
made it clear that I could renew immediately and should, because
if the domain expired I would, of course, lose it and thus life
as I knew it would come to a close.
Closer examination revealed that the document was not from my
domain registrar at all. In fact, it was from some company that
I had never heard of before. The letter certainly looked
official and important, but in reality it was just more junk
mail.
Okay, first question: how had these idiots gotten my home
address? Simple. As it turns out, this is a common practice
among some of the less ethical domain registrars. Using the
WHOIS database, they get a list of all of the domain names about
to expire, then send a letter to each address explaining this
fact and offering to renew the domain.
The WHOIS database is a list of each domain name that exists on
the internet, along with the name and address (and some other
information) of each owner. This information is public
knowledge, freely available to anyone.
What would have happened if I had sent a check to the domain
registrar to pay for a renewal? It would have been transferred
to the new registrar. If I had not read the letter carefully, I
probably would not have realized that I was not just renewing my
domain, I was transferring my domain to a new registrar.
In some instances worse things happen. You could receive an
email in your inbox, for example, making the same claim: your
domain is about to expire. Click on a link and you've given
(unknowingly) permission for your domain to be transferred. A
few days later you might discover your web site not working,
your email turned off and your domain information completely
unavailable.
This is called "domain name slamming", and it is named after the
practice that some highly unethical long distance phone
companies employ. These companies will, at the least
provocation, change your phone company to themselves. You could
cash a check, return a post card or use any number of other
means to "give permission" to change. Some of the most unethical
companies have been known to just change your service without
even asking.
The moral of the story? Keep good records of where your domain
names are registered. If you do get an email or a letter, go
directly to your domain registrar's web site and renew the
domain yourself. Don't click anything in the email, respond or
send back a letter. Just go to the web site and renew. This way
you can be sure you understand exactly what is happening, and
this way you can be positive that nothing else is occurring.
And oh yes, stay away from those registrars who engage in this
practice. At least, that's my humble advice. I find the whole
tactic unethical in the extreme, and personally, I will go to
extremes to not do business with any registrar who slams.