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.