Nominet is the national registry for all domain names ending
.uk. It said it has received over 100 reports of existing domain
name holders being sent a demand for payment for “the on-line
connection of a web address”, a phrase which could be interpreted
to mean the domain name itself.
Lesley Cowley, managing director of Nominet, said:
“Those contacted should treat the demand
with the same caution as they would any other unsolicited invoice
and, if unsure, contact their ISP for clarification."
Most domain names ending .uk are registered through an ISP and
need to be renewed every two years. In the first instance, Nominet
sends the renewal invoice to the ISP, who should contact the
registrant for payment. If, for any reason, the ISP does not renew
the registration, Nominet tries to contact the registrant directly
to offer them the opportunity to renew the registration.
Earlier this month, a similar scam was uncovered in which
businesses that had applied for Community trade marks received what
appeared to be invoices for registration of their marks in the
“Central Data-Register Community Trade Marks.” The letters
requested payment of €1,235.40. The Office for Harmonisation in the
Internal Market (OHIM) warned businesses that this is not an
official publication.
ICANN, the internet’s technical co-ordination body, also warned
this month of a scam in which domain name owners receive a request
for a “security deposit fee” if they want to defend “ownership of
the domain name” from an entity purporting to be a dispute
resolution body. The scammers demanded fees in the range of $250 to
$1,250.
