Deceptive Domain Noticies

It has been brought to our attention that some customers may have been recipients of letters that appear to be renewal notifications and/or invoices for DNS services related to their existing domain name(s). This particular notice is a deceptive sales tactic and not unlike other deceptive notices we have seen from third parties for domain name renewals.

The distributor of this communication appears to have obtained contact data from the public WHOIS database. This practice is prohibited along with distributing misleading notices to domain registrants encouraging them to purchase DNS services. The notice is similar in appearance to a 'renewal notice' or 'invoice'. If you respond to this solicitation it could result in modification of your DNS, and as a result any services associated to the domain may be interrupted.

Unfortunately, attempts to terminate these types of sales practices are difficult. This is due to the fact that the majority of these notices state that the company that issued the communication is not affiliated with the customer's current provider of services nor is it a bill or invoice. This enables these companies to market these notices as solicitations for new business, despite their deceiving appearance. Unfortunately, many registrants overlook this fact and take action based on the appearance of the notice.

We have an example of the letter below for your information: