Just a note to mention that the infamous DROA have been doing a massive mailshot in the US lately. (Their address is New York, but they're based in Canada.) They send an official-looking letter to expiring domain holders registered addresses, asking for $30 to renew the domain for a year.
Unlike their earlier scams, it's clear if you read it that they're requesting you transfer the domain to them, but I've already had one customer hand over $50 to them for 2 years renewal, thinking it was an official notice to renew. They didn't renew the domain as it was locked, but they sent no refund, either.
They've cleaned up their letter (following a ruling by the FTC over misleading letters in 2003, iirc), but they're still a bunch of scamming scumbags. Part of their terms and conditions still say (in the smallest small print I've ever seen) that you have to write to them to transfer your domain away from them, and that you agree to pay them any fees they care to charge for it, and they can refuse to transfer it if you don't.
I sent out a warning to other clients to be aware of the status of any mail from them, and got back two replies to say they'd recently received letters, too. One would have paid it had I not just renewed their domain (at a third the cost of DROA). I've also just received one for a domain of mine.
Unlike their earlier scams, it's clear if you read it that they're requesting you transfer the domain to them, but I've already had one customer hand over $50 to them for 2 years renewal, thinking it was an official notice to renew. They didn't renew the domain as it was locked, but they sent no refund, either.
They've cleaned up their letter (following a ruling by the FTC over misleading letters in 2003, iirc), but they're still a bunch of scamming scumbags. Part of their terms and conditions still say (in the smallest small print I've ever seen) that you have to write to them to transfer your domain away from them, and that you agree to pay them any fees they care to charge for it, and they can refuse to transfer it if you don't.
I sent out a warning to other clients to be aware of the status of any mail from them, and got back two replies to say they'd recently received letters, too. One would have paid it had I not just renewed their domain (at a third the cost of DROA). I've also just received one for a domain of mine.