If you own a domain name or several domain names then you may have likely received a letter from the domain registry in the mail that your domain name is about to expire.
You may be wondering if this is another scam or something that requires your attention.
I actually received a letter from them this morning in the mail and thought I’d give you guys a heads up so you know what to expect in case you would get one as well.
If you’re new to this industry and aren’t sure how much you should pay to renew your domain for the following year then you may fallen victim to this scheme without knowing it.
Within the following post, I’ll be showing you the actual letter I got in the mail this morning, how much they claim I’ll need to pay to renew these domains, along with how much they are overcharging you.
I invite you guys to follow along and please ask me any questions you may still have after reading this post.
Also, if you have received a letter like the one I received in the mail this morning, please share your experience below.
By doing so you’ll be helping the next person out from becoming the latest victim of this notorious scam.
What Is The Domain Registry Scam?
After doing some research on this scam I was able to determine that this company was based out of New Jersey and I even got a phone number in case you guys want to call them up.
It’s important for you guys to keep in mind that this isn’t the first time I’ve received a letter like this in the mail.
I remember getting one back in 2013 when I first started out in this industry.
If I was to think back to 2013, I didn’t know nearly as much as I do now about domain names, hosting & website servers like I do today in 2019.
However, I was still smart enough to know that if I purchased a domain name from GoDaddy then why on earth would I pay an outside company to renew my domain name?
Makes no sense when you really think about it, right?
Unfortunately, there are many, many people who get into this business that actually falls for this scam and sends them the money.
How The Scam Works
Upon opening this letter up this morning, I noticed that their website was also displayed at the top right which was pretty awesome as I was able to gain even more insights into this system.
The letter starts out saying that this is a courtesy notice that is sent out to all domain owners with an offer to switch and take advantage of their huge savings.
LOL Yea right, what savings?
Once you see the prices you’ll pay for domain names as well as renewal fees you’ll understand why I found this to be so funny.
For those of you who can’t see this, the prices start out at $50 a year and they claim to offer you savings for renewing 2 years or more at a time.
This is hardly savings as you’ll be paying almost 4 times as much if you were to register a domain from Wealthy Affiliate, Godaddy, or any other legit domain registrar.
Within the next section, I’ll be giving you guys some valuable insight into some of their pricing & how much you’ll ultimately pay to register a domain name with this company.
The True Price You’ll Pay To Transfer A Domain Name
As I started looking around on their website, I was able to get a clearer picture of how much you’ll ultimately pay to register a domain name with these guys.
Take a look at the screenshot that I’ve captured directly from their website to see how much more you’ll pay with these guys then if you were to buy your domain from a normal legit domain registrar.
Also, as if that isn’t bad enough, did you guys see that there is also a redemption fee of $300 you’ll need to pay as well if you were to accept this offer.
Pretty crazy if you ask me, wouldn’t you guys agree?
Like I said earlier, you could register 4 domains for 1 year with a legit domain registrar for the price you would pay to register 1 for one year with this company.
Definitely, something you guys need to avoid and throw this letter in the trash if and when you get it.
The Normal Price You Should Pay From A Legit Company
Buying a domain name is actually one of the most inexpensive things you’ll buy when you start a business online.
There are a plethora of domain name registrars out there that you can buy your domains from but as you can see they all weren’t created equal.
Normally, you should expect to pay anywhere from $10.99 a year to as much as $17.99 a year depending on which registrar you decide to go with.
Personally, I buy all my domain names from Wealthy Affiliate as they come with all the features required to run my business at one low yearly cost.
Take a look at the chart below to get a more detailed look into all the features that should come included with your domain purchase below.
As you guys can see from the screenshot above, this comes with privacy protection which will prevent you from receiving offers like this.
I just so happen to have the domain name that they sent me this notice for registered with GoDaddy without the privacy protection enabled.
I’ll be going into more detail on this within the next section so I encourage you guys to continue reading for all the details.
How Do They Get Your Info?
Unless you have enabled privacy protection on all your domains then your contact information is displayed for the entire world to see.
This is how these scammers get a hold of your information and use scare tactics to get you to switch over and pay these astronomical fees.
I would highly recommend that you have privacy protection enabled for any domain names that you plan to keep and build a business with.
Like you can see from the chart above, this service usually costs extra if you were to register your domains with any other registrar other than WA.
Now that I have switched the majority of my domain names over to WA I no longer have to worry about my personal information being on display for the world to see.
However, I do still have a few that I’m not really doing anything with right now, but do plan to move over in the near future.
What You Need To Know To Avoid These Types Of Scams
If you receive any type of letter like this in the future the first thing you should do is your due diligence.
Do a few searches on Google, visit their website (domainregistry.to) find out other peoples experience and even search the BBB and other places to see what type of reputation they have online.
Like I said earlier, knowing the domain prices and who you registered your domain name with are the 2 main things you need to know to outsmart these scammers.
Also, buying your domain names from a legitimate provider who doesn’t try to overcharge you for features that should be included with your purchase is another step in the right direction.
What Do I Recommend?
The place that I recommend that you guys buy your domains from is Wealthy Affiliate.
This way you don’t have to worry about getting these letters as your private information will be protected at NO additional cost to you.
Anyway, I really hope this short post has helped you guys out and has given you some valuable information to avoid falling for this scam.
Have you received a letter like this in the mail recently?
I hope you either threw it away or at least did some research on it first.
I would love to hear all about it as well as answer any additional questions you may have in the comments below.
Until next time
~Your Friend, Scott~