Warning: do not buy domain appraisals at NameOrange.com.
A new domain appraisal scam that surfaced a few months ago has migrated to a new web site, NameOrange.com.
The scammers send an e-mail to domain name owners offering to buy their domain for a certain percentage of the appraisal price. The e-mail requires an appraisal from one of three domain name appraisal services, including one owned by the scammer. The scammer’s appraisal service has the lowest price, so many people are duped into buying an appraisal from the service. However, the scammer does not end up purchasing the domain names.
The scam originally sent people to Pozde.com, and later changed to TropicalNames.com.
Here is the full text of an email I received this morning:
subject: Offer to buy your domain name: DOMAIN.COM – domain name resellers
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are interested to buy your domain name DOMAIN.COM and offer to buy it from you for 65% of the appraised market value.
As of now we accept appraisals from either one of the following leading appraisal companies:
se do.com
nameorange.com
accuratedomains.comIf you already have an appraisal please forward it to us.
As soon as we have received your appraisal we will send you our payment (we use Paypal for amounts less than $2,000 and escrow.com for amounts above $2,000) as well as further instructions on how to complete the transfer of the domain name.
We appreciate your business,
Yours truly,
Charles Johnson
Thanks for posting this — I got two of these today, and my scam sensors barely tingled. (Although I as not at risk, because I am not interested in selling my domains at 65% of third-party valuations.)
I also received on of these today. The thing that tipped me off to being a bit odd (other than a total unsolicited offer) was the domain name they were aksing to purchase I let expire several months ago and is available for public registration! Who would ask to buy a domain name that they could register themselves for next to nothing?
Also, I looked at all three of the aprasial sites, 2 looked legit and the third looked like it was put togeather by a grade-school web design student with a Buy Now paypal link.
Stay away!
I my opinion all appraisal services are a scam!
Your domain is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, at the time you are trying to sell it.
I also received that email. I agree with JS about appraisals. I wouldn’t waste my money on them.
also note the sender only has a gmail address and addresses the email Dear sir or madam where my website clearly says who I am on the front page, so potential buyer hasn’t even looked at current site using name. Interested me enough to check it out though as a refreshing new approach to the usual unimaginative scam email !
I received the identical email except for the appraisal domain flyappraisals.com. I looked it up whois, the name was registered 5/27/09. A very reputable appraisal firm no doubt.
BTW The domain they wished to purchase expired several days ago.
Dave
Again – thanks for posting this info – got the same email twice in a week from two separate jerks – flyappraisals.com being the site for both solicitations.
Received the same scam today. The cheapest ‘service’ listetd: fleos.com. The fleos website took 1 minute to load, hardly the hallmark of a serious appraisal business!
(This is a repeat post, being placed on multiple article threads for obvious reasons.)
We can all stop this scam together. Here is how: FOLLOW THE MONEY.
The scammers make money through affiliate revenue. Somewhere up the chain are legitimate companies that do not want their names tarnished, since they could be sued.
So, follow all the hyperlinks. Notify every company/web site in the chain about the affiliate abuse. Start the process of ordering an appraisal to make sure you actually have the final site, but DO NOT actually place the order. Then report the scammer with all hyperlinks and site names mentioned so the companies can ID the scammers and terminate their affiliate contracts. Usually, you report to abuse@[websitename.com]
Let’s do it!
@ Avenger – they aren’t making money from affiliates. They are making it when you buy an appraisal from their bogus appraisal company.
I also receieved a request which I have included below:
Hello,
Are you interested in sale of your domain? Please name your price.
We are in hosting and domain business. But we are very interested in
Internet names and web sites too.
If you have other domains for sale feel free to send your list.
Looking forward to do business with you.
Regards,
Daniel Whitham
CEO
Net Invest LLC
THIS IS A SCAM DO NOT RESPOND TO IT !!!
I got the same email and I give a response with a price suggestion. I will inform you what happens next.