Clients often contact us after receiving a letter/domain renewal notice stating that their domain name is about to expire. In common with many scams, the letter often urges you to act immediately. If the domain renewal notice you receive is not from your registrar, it is not to be trusted.
Fake domain name renewal notices are a scam known as Domain Slamming. Renew with this fake company and you may be transferring the domain name away from your existing provider.
Know Your Registrar
It’s important that you know who holds the registration on your domain name – this company is called the registrar. To be safe, confirm with your registrar that your domain is locked. A locked domain can not be transferred.
How does this fake company know who you are? How did they get your information?
WhoIs
Whois is the master directory for domain name registrations. Unless a domain owner purchases WHOIS privacy, their name and contact details are publicly visible, along with other technical and contact information.
If you receive a domain renewal notice from a service other than the one you registered with, throw it away. If someone else registered the domain on your behalf, ask them for the name of the registrar that they used.