Scams and phishing
Letters that look like your domain renewal
It arrives looking like a bill: your business name, your web address, an expiry date and an amount due.
1 min readExplainer
The short version
Official-looking letters and emails about your website domain, trademark or business listing are often sales pitches or scams dressed as invoices.
How it works
These notices come by mail or email, often timed close to a real renewal date, which is public information. They look like invoices and use words like “expiration notice” or “final notice.”
Some are domain slamming: if you pay, your domain is moved to a different registrar, usually at a much higher price. Some offer a “search engine submission” or listing that has nothing to do with your domain at all. Others claim someone in another country is about to register your business name and you must buy it first.
The small print usually says it is not a bill. Most people never read that far.
What to do
- Know who your registrar is. Your domain is registered with one company. Renewals come from them, by email, to the contact address on file.
- Check before you pay anything about your domain or website. Ask whoever manages it.
- Turn on auto-renewal and a registrar lock with your real registrar, so the domain cannot lapse or be moved without your approval.
- Keep the contact details current on your domain, so real notices reach you.
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