Thursday, December 01, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Beware of Another Domain Name Scam - ListingCorp.com

Internet scams are everywhere. Over the past two years, there has been a large increase in domain name registration scams, telling a domain owner that in order to "keep their domain listing" they have to send a check for $35.00. This isn't a huge amount, but for the large number of unsuspecting website and domain owners out there, the Listing Corp (www.listingcorp.com) is cleaning up.

Most business owners who own a domain name or website do not have time to keep up on all aspects of their domain name registration. Your registration is an annual fee of usually less than $10.00 that ensures your ownership of the domain name (www.yourcompany.com). The Listing Corp. (www.listingcorp.com) is taking advantage of these busy, less-web savvy companies and small businesses by sending letters via U.S. Mail to the Administrative address on file for the domain. The letter reads:

"To ensure listing by , please remit payment on or before . All listings are final."

The date in the letter is usually the same as your domain's expiration date, thus tricking you into thinking this letter is from your domain registrar, and you must send payment to keep your domain. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. This is how they trick you.

In addition, the letter looks like an invoice, and also may include variations of your actual domain name, which may not even exist (such as YOURCOMPANY.INFO or YOURCOMPANY.BIZ).

Listing Corp. protects itself by including this line on the back of their letter:

"This is not a bill. This is a solicitation. You are under no obligation to pay the amount stated above unless you accept this offer."

Even though this is true, it is still confusing to domain name owners, since the "no obligation to pay unless you accept this offer" could be misconstrued as "no obligation to pay unless you want to lose your domain name." They also use the term "Search Engine Listing" to insinuate that your are paying for an actual service (which doesn't exist, by the way).

This company (Listing Corp.) has also been known to send vague "Renewal Notices" in the past. Do a Google search for "listing corp scam" and you will see the multitude of postings by victims of this scam.

To protect yourself, you should only consider emails from your actual domain registrar (Go Daddy, Network Solutions, Dotster, Drive Thru Domains, etc.). These registrars NEVER send actual letters, and theie emails will be labeled as "Domain Expiration Notices." If you are still unsure, you could always consult the person who setup your domain name in the first place.

Caveat Emptor

Drive Thru Designs, Inc. provides affordable, professional web solutions to small businesses at a lower cost than traditional consulting firms. Specializing in usability, interface design, and user-friendly content management tools, Drive Thru Designs, Inc. allows small businesses a competitive advantage against larger competitors.