New Domain Name Scam

Discovering

I know the below type of scam is not new but they contacted a few of our clients on the same day (today) so maybe they are targeting Irish sites now.

We have had a couple of clients ring us today after getting a curious phone call.

The phone call went something like this:

Hello I am ringing from a company called ISIS Online.

We have a client looking to register the domain name www.yourwebaddress-plus-a-keyword.com

For example: www.darklitewebhosting.com, .net and .org

Since the web address contains your company name we thought we should ring you first to see if you would like to register these domain names first.

I assume it is a competitor of yours looking to register these.

I can offer you three options:

1. We can have our client put a disclaimer on the site if you wish.
2. You can do nothing and let the client register the domain names.
3. We can register the domain names for you.

Then they tell you they can only hold the domain names for you until 5 today at which time their client will get them.

One of our clients was told they (ISIS Online) were legally obliged to contact them as the domain name had their (client) company name in it!

Nice scam, panic the person into buying the domain names.

There web address is: http://www.isis-online.co.uk/

Phone 0044 1792 700 744

I hate people like these.

This reminds me of the Domain Registry of America scam.

Anyone else get a phone call from these people?

peterd

Yep, got a phone call from them on Monday with the same blurb. Wanted me to buy about 5 domains with diff extensions, .biz, .us etc.

raphaelS

Originally posted by Discovering

...This reminds me of the Domain Registry of America scam.

I got a letter from this crew one week ago for one of my domain... saying that I should renew the domain well before the expiration date...
Sign here, give CCard details and we'll sort that for you... don't worry!

I'm going to send that letter to my register... I'm sure they won't be pleased!

Raphael

bus77

Off topic : Nice photos on your website
raphael, I have the Cigerette Butt one set as my desktop now, coz Im givin up the smokes:D

Pablo

yeah I got a call from them too. But i was too busy at the time to take the call.

raphaelS

Originally posted by bus77
Off topic : Nice photos on your website
raphael, I have the Cigerette Butt one set as my desktop now, coz Im givin up the smokes:D

Good, I'll send you an invoice!
Is it big enough? I can use the source to create a 1024x768 or bigger?

I might offer some photos as wallpaper, I've seen that and this is a good idea.

Raphael

Spunog UIE

Originally posted by raphaelS
I got a letter from this crew one week ago for one of my domain... saying that I should renew the domain well before the expiration date...
Sign here, give CCard details and we'll sort that for you... don't worry!

I'm going to send that letter to my register... I'm sure they won't be pleased!

Raphael

Ye i got one from them too, just read it, realised my address was shown as default, changed it, then binned letter. Whats the scam? Just figured they trying to poach people but wouldn't be too worried about that, thye not a legitimate company or something? Obv don't know anything about then, hence the binning.

Enygma

hehe, they got us last week for a .biz
And we fell for it hook line and sinker!

raphaelS

Originally posted by Gideon
Ye i got one from them too, just read it, realised my address was shown as default, changed it, then binned letter. Whats the scam? Just figured they trying to poach people but wouldn't be too worried about that, thye not a legitimate company or something? Obv don't know anything about then, hence the binning.

Well, they are not your register otherwise you wouldn't have get the letter... they way the letter is made can make you think that this is just a formal renewal when in fact it is to change your register...

It didn't work with me because:
1- I know where my domain is registred...
2- This is more expensive than where I am!

Raphael

buddy

Is this not a case for having your details made confidential and not available using a whois search.

Discovering

The Domain Registry of America is a scam because:

1. They have noting to do with your domain name therefore the letter is unsoliciated.

2. They send their letter out 3 months before the renewal date of a domain and the letter mislead by telling you your domain name is about to expire.

3. The letter is a real copy of the style of old Network Solutions letters.

Sposs

Yea had a few of our clients on complaining about them , they wanted to charge them £500 sterling for a 10 year registration of a .net.

mneylon

Reading over this thread I notice that there is a little confusion.

There are, in fact, two separate scams:
1. Domain Registry of America: They send out letters in a lovely white envelope with "stars and stripes" asking people to renew their domain through them.

2. ISIS Online - Ring client and scaremonger them into buying related domains ie. ones that have some connection with the client's existing .com

Regarding scam No1 - we've had loads of those over the last year or so.
Scam No.2 - nobody has reported any to us as yet, but I've been hearing a lot of complaints from other people.

Discovering

Sorry for any confusion yes there are two seperate scams like blacknight said.

mneylon

Interesting (imho) followup to this.
NetSol rejected a transfer to us on the grounds that it *might* have been invalid and blamed DROA activity.

BoB_BoT

scaremongering whores! took a look at their site and it looks like a retarded monkey designed it, broken links and missing data in every page except the index page. It could very well be a scam as in people collecting yoru credit card details.

tinyjim

WoW!!

What a WOEFUL website!

'Nuff said, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole! More like cyber squatters than domain reg. company to me.