Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Chicanery! Domain Name Scams
I recently opened an email from my web hosting company that read something akin to this:
We have recently noticed an increase in the number of our customers who have been unable to purchase domain names shortly after checking their availability through certain domain name lookup tools on the web. It has come to our attention that one or more Domain Name Registrars may be reserving domains immediately after a search is performed on their websites and then requiring you to purchase the domain name directly through them.
Assuming that this was some kind of ploy to get me to use their search tool, which is frankly quite lame, I went on my merry way never realizing that I would become yet another statistic in the annals of web chicanery!
Shortly thereafter, I used a handy search tool over at a web site/company we'll call "Netwerk Solutions"(to protect the not-so-innocent!).
After using their handy dandy search tool, I found out that the name I wanted was indeed available, so I promptly browsed on over to my control panel to secure this available name, just to find out that it was in reality not available! Back to NS. Available. Back to control panel. Unavailable! What a mystery!
Well, a simple "who is" search cleared everything up - our friends at Netwerk Solutions had reserved the very name I searched for, using their rather handy search tool, and on the very day that I searched for it! What a coincidence!
I don't know if it was all of my ranting at my company and the guilty party (and my computer screen - screen wipes, anyone?), but a week later the name had been released,and I was able to grab it, but not after quite a bit of fretting. Thankfully this happened with a very understanding and graceful client, so I wasn't in any trouble.
This time.
Labels: webbing
posted by aerthling @ 2:58 PM,
