Aknosis.com

Domain Name Search Engine Registration Mail Scam

Believe it or not scams even come through snail mail. This has been around for a while but it is the first time I’ve seen it personally. The overall goal of this scam is to make you think that your domain name is expiring and to hurry and send them money before it expires.

Here is the main body of the letter:

As a courtesy reminder, we are sending you this notification for you business Domain name search engine registration. This letter is to inform you that it’s time to send in your registration and save.

You must complete your domain name search engine registration to guarantee your listing on the Web, and now is the time to register and save.

Failure to complete your Domain name search engine registration by the expiration date may result in cancellation of this offer making it difficult for customers to locate you on the web.

Privatization allows for the consumer a choice when registering. Search engine subscription includes domain name search engine submission. You are under no obligation to pay the amounts stated below unless you accept this offer. Do not discard; this notice is not an invoice it is a courtesy reminder to register your domain name search engine listing so your customers can locate you on the web.

This notice for: WWW.DOMAIN.COM will expire on 02/10/2009 Act Today!

If you read the text carefully you are actually paying for “domain name search registration“. This service is undoubtedly bogus or not worth the stamp used to mail the letter… The document looks all official with bar codes and dates and even a customer number. They give the option to pay $119 for 1 year and a discounted rate of $200 for 4 years.

The seemingly important part of all this is that they aren’t asking you to mail your check to Nigeria or China. They want you to mail it to:

PROCESSING CENTER
545 Eighth Street
Suite 401
New York, New York 10018
(866) 230-2144

I have to feel sorry for anyone who falls for this, the fact that this comes in your regular mail probably offers lets scrutiny than your normal flood of inbox spam, not to mention the official looking nature of the document and U.S. mailing address.

I think I’ll give them a ring tomorrow and see what response I get (if any). If only something could be done, I mean realistically there is someone checking that mailbox one way or another. Is it really that hard to scope out the address? Put like a tracking device on a check? Maybe I’m desiring to become a private eye or James Bond but its only a thought.

Here’s some links to the same/similar thing:

• http://www.ucan.org/blog/money/financial_privacy_id_theft/domainusa_aka_domain_name_usa_website_registration_scam
• http://www.rjponzio.com/2008/09/05/domain-notice-scam/ (the pdf link here is identical to the one I saw)

Tags: Information Security, scam