If you own a domain name - beware! Unscrupulous people are waiting to steal away the lease on your domain, to raise your yearly rent and lock you in to their terms.

Separate from domain squatters, who snap up expiring domains and charge a hefty fee to return them, these domain scammers go for smaller, long-term gains. They gain publicly available information about you as the owner of the domain, and then send a very legitimate-looking invoice for the domain. This is not truly an invoice; it is a request to transfer the domain to their registrar, but that information is buried in the small print that few of us read at the bottom. Once they have your domain, they may charge you large amounts for yearly renewal and make it very difficult to transfer your domain away to a friendlier registrar.

The best way to avoid this is by knowing who your registrar is, and ignoring invoices from strange companies that you've never heard from. Even if you host your website with us, the registrar may be someone else, such as Network Solutions or GoDaddy. If you're not sure, drop an email to us here at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we can tell you who your registrar is.

Losing a domain name can be catastrophic if your business depends upon it. Like having your hard drive crash without backups, you may discover you were more dependent on it than you thought.  

If your domain does expire, all may not be lost. Network Solutions, for instance, has a grace period, after the expiration but before the name is released for reuse.

If your domain is registered through SWCP, we'll send you periodic email reminders as your domain comes closer to renewal, followed up by phone calls if needed, to keep your domain from expiring. Other registrars may also offer reminder service. 

by Victoria Lesanges, Tech Support Director 

from SWCP Portal, October 2007