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Scams are like Plagues; You Need to Avoid Both

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In the age of technology, there have been a lot of advancements and successes, especially for the digital world. With as many achievements as the digital world has made, there have been almost as many scams. One such scam is by a company looking to make money off your expiring domain name.

Recently, our office received a letter stating a client’s domain name was about to expire. True to nature, our first instinct was to make a mental note that it would need to be renewed so their website doesn’t go down. Then, we noticed something wasn’t right. The letter didn’t come from our domain registrar and web hosting company; it came from a company called iDNS. After a bit of investigation, we found the letter, and company, to be a scam.

The letter itself looks completely legitimate right down to the expiration date of the domain name. They even offered us a “deal” if we registered the domain for an extended period of time. Of course, if we had simply given them our credit card, they’d have our money and our client wouldn’t have an active website.

How do you prevent a scam of this magnitude?

  • Be aware: If you receive a notice, be mindful of the company it is coming from. Scams aren’t limited to emails; your business can also receive them through snail mail, even a phone call. If you aren’t sure who your domain registrar and web hosting company is, a simple whois.net search will tell you. Our team of professionals can also help!
  • Be diligent: Don’t pay the notice immediately, especially if they’re asking for credit information. Assuming you didn’t build your website yourself, reach out to the company who did and let them know about the notice you received. If they can’t help you, it’s time for a new digital partner, Brawn Media can help!
  • Go with your gut: If you receive something that gives you a bad feeling and you think it’s a scam, it probably is. There’s a lot of assumption that scams only happen online; that simply isn’t the case. As we said before, a scam can come via email, snail mail, or a phone call. Whichever the case may be, if it feels like a scam, it most likely is.

While honesty is the best policy, there are still people out there looking to make a quick dollar off of another person and their naivety. As an agency, we do our best to protect our clients from something of this nature. If you’re working with a business that isn’t looking out for your wellbeing, it’s time to find a new partner. The professionals of Brawn Media have what it takes; contact us today to get started!