One perpetrator of renewal scam is now using robocalling.
Almost everyone who has registered a domain name has received scam renewal notices. The notices, sent via email or postal mail, try to trick you into renewing your domain name with a company other than your domain registrar.
Now this scam has moved to robocalls.
Here’s a voicemail a Domain Name Wire reader received today:
Um, hi. This is Karen. This is an urgent message. Your domain registration is set to expire. We’ve been trying to reach you regarding your business domain renewal. You can use our automated system to renew your domain quickly when you get a moment to call us back. Please, return this call at 1-888-202-5979…
You can listen to the audio here:
If you call the number back, the system checks your phone number against its database. I called from Skype and got a message that it was unable to locate the domain name based on my caller ID and asked me to enter my phone number.
Wow – they are getting smarter. Not just with using the number to look up your domain, but also how flustered Karen is at the start of the call. Like she’s really concerned for you and your domain.
I’ve never been completely sure if these scams are just to take your money or massively overcharge you for a real domain transfer (which would result in an expiry extension). If a transfer happens then maybe a registrar is complicit?
Hey Matt,
Both of your suspicions are correct (bases on those that i know who does that)
1) they’ll try to transfer your domain at a very high price
2) if they fail (we do assist our customers by refusing the transfer requests), they’ll keep your money.
And registrars aren’t complicits.
I got the same vm from 888-202-5979, I followed through the sign up process and it is definitely not a domain transfer, I think that ship sailed 15 years ago. It looks like it is a website submission service someone is promoting thorough an affiliate program to the small more local search engines that are not google. Still not good but not a domain transfer. The real company probably has no idea this is how the customers are signing up. Thats if anyone at all is signing up. These are always affiliates and companies turn a blind eye. Very popular for debt relief calls.
Not shocked about this recent tele-method of scamming unsuspecting domain name registrants. I haven’t had any of these calls yet, but on the email side, I must get 25+ per day.