Do you have a domain name registered? Have you ever received an email or even snail mail from a domain registry group that states that your domain name is expiring and you need to renew it for $75 or some other atrociously high price? If you have, be sure to know that it is a scam.

How did they get my contact information?
When you register a domain, you need to provide the registrar with a valid name, mailing address and email address to provide to the WHOIS database, without this information you cannot register the domain. Shady domain registries troll the WHOIS records for domains that are soon to be expired and send a letter or email to the owner of the domain. It usually says something along the lines of “your domain is expiring soon, you must renew it before you lose it” What they don’t mention is that your domain is not registered with them and the transaction would actually be a domain transfer, not renewal and at a price that is most likely 5 times as much!

How can I avoid this?
You can avoid getting these type of request by purchasing Private Registration for your domain. Private Registration removes your address, email address and phone number and replaces it with our nondescript information.  Any spam sent to the email or physical address is filtered through, and the important stuff is forwarded on to you. Check out the example below of how your domain information would appear in the WHOIS database:

Without Private Registration:
Your Name
you@youremail.com
4567 Your Street Address
Your City, ST, 12345
Your Country
Your Phone #: 555.555.5555

With Private Registration:
Registration Privacy, No-IP.com
dynamicallygeneratedemail@privacy.no-ip.com(this address changes dynamically every 10 days, so by the time the email is added to a spam list, chances are high that it is already invalid and stale)
P.O. Box 19083
Reno, NV 89511
United States
775-853-1883

So, please do not fall victim to these domain registry groups. When you register your domain, consider adding Private Registration to keep your information private. Also, any renewal or expiration notifications from us about your domain will be from domains@no-ip or noreply@no-ip.com and we will NEVER contact you via snail mail.

If you have any questions about your domain registrations with No-IP, you can always contact our support department for help. Also, be sure to share this with your friends and family to save them from being scammed as well.

Plus, SAVE 25% on domain registrations today through March 31st with offer code MAR25. Register your domain now! (and be sure to add Private Registration to it!)