Domain Renewal Warning

You should still be very wary of Domain Renewal Warnings.

I have written about these before, but people are still getting caught, and new variations of the “scam” are coming out all the time.

First up though, is it really a scam . . . Well, that depends how you define it.

English: Clement Stone, Chairman, Combined Insurance Company of America meets Gerald Ford in the Oval Office. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is definitely a solicitation, but they generally come in the form of a warning that the renewal of your domain name is due, and that you should take certain actions secure the continued use of your website domain name.

“As a courtesy to domain name holders, we are sending you this notification for your business Domain name search engine registration. This letter is to inform you that it’s time to send in your registration and save.

It is time to send in your registration and save.

That certainly sounds inviting and important!

“Failure to complete your Domain name search engine registration by the expiration date may result in cancellation of this offer making it difficult for your customers to locate you on the web.

That sounds a lot more ominous.

It is certainly true that if you fail to renew your domain name, you could lose online business.

That is why we manage the domain names for our clients as part of their Support Package. It is one less thing for our clients to have to remember and worry about. And we pay for it too !!

BUT . . . failing to take up the offer in the scam letter or email will not in any circumstances result directly in the loss of your domain name – so that is a veiled lie.

Further along they very politely say . . .

“Do not discard, this notice is not an invoice it is a courtesy reminder to register your domain name search engine listing so your customers can locate you on the web.

It then goes on to give the domain name and expiry date, and renewal and payment options.