Here’s a spam alert that a lot of our clients have gotten, but it’s interesting in that it’s not an email: it’s a printed letter that’s actually mailed to their place of business.
As a courtesy to domain name holders, we are sending you this notification of the domain name registration that is due to expire in the next few months. When you switch today to Domain Registry, you can take advantage of our best savings. Your registration for: example.com will expire on January 16, 2022. Act today!
Domain name: example.com
Reply Requested By: November 29, 2021
You must renew your domain name to retain exclusive rights to it on the Web, and now is the time to transfer and renew your name from your current Registrar to Domain Registry. Failure to renew your domain name by the expiration date may result in a loss of your online identity making it difficult for your customers and friends to locate you on the Web. Privatization of Domain Registrations and Renewals now allows the consumer the choice of Registrars when initially registering and also when renewing a domain name. Domain name holders are not obligated to renew their domain name with their current Registrar or with Domain Registry. Review our prices and decide for yourself. You are under no obligation to pay the amounts stated below, unless you accept this offer. This notice is not a bill, it is rather an easy means of payment should you decide to switch your domain name registration to Domain Registry.
If you read the letter carefully, they’re basically asking you not to renew your domain, but to transfer it to them! If you sign it, the fine print gives them the power to take the domain away from whoever you have it registered with currently and then they become the new domain registrar.
This is scary: I don’t know anything about this company and this tactic is highly suspicious, especially since I think they are counting on the client to not know what it is they’re doing, and just assume they need to sign the paperwork in order to renew their domain.
Have you gotten a letter like this? Good news: as long as you have a domain with a real domain registrar like GoDaddy, Google Domains, Network Solutions, Bluehost, or Namecheap, you can safely ignore this letter. But while you’re thinking about it, you might want to double-check your domain to make sure it’s set to auto-renew with your current registrar, and that your credit card on file is still good.
I hope you find that helpful.
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Ron Stauffer is a web guy and digital marketer with a passion for helping small businesses grow. He has spent over 16 years working in the digital marketing field, building websites, creating marketing strategies, and growing traffic and revenue for small businesses across the USA. His motto is “data wins arguments,” and he uses data visualization tools and charts and graphs to track everything and prove the value of his marketing efforts for clients. Connect with Ron on LinkedIn, follow him on Twitter, or visit Lieder Digital online.