Your domain name is a valuable and vital part of your small business’s brand. This is because it’s used to navigate your business through digital mediums. As a result, it’s important to keep your company domain name registration up to date and protected from potential domain scammers. Staying attentive and cautious is crucial when it comes to reviewing services. Especially as domain scam companies have adapted in order to intimidate and manipulate you.
Steps to Avoid Falling Victim to a Scam
- Stay up to date on important information about your domain name. Make sure to take note of when your company domain name will be expiring and who is your registrar. It is important to make sure your domain name is registered properly with a professional domain name registrar. Examples of our personal favorites at Hometown Marketing Group include Godaddy.com, Hostinger.com, siteground.com. If you are unsure or need to confirm who your registrar is, you can look it up with the help of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This non-profit organization specializes in monitoring the sale, supply, and protection of domain names. For more information on how to look up relevant information about your company’s domain name, visit their website at https://whois.icann.org/.
- List three separate individuals under your ICANN WHOIS registration for Registrant Contact, Admin Contact, and Tech Contact. This will be helpful because all three contacts will then receive official reminds of when your domain name is scheduled to expire.
- When it comes time to renew your domain name, you should ONLY renew through the company where it was originally purchased. Never use intermediaries and it is suggested renewing your domain name far in advance for longer periods will prevent you from having to worry about unwanted registration renewal notices.
- Take advantage of the domain locking feature, most registrars provide the option to lock your domain and prevent your domain name from being re-registered anywhere else without permission from your company.
How to Spot a Domain Scam
You might have received an official-looking notice via mail, informing you that your domain is about to expire. In addition, it may offer you a “discount” price to renew. DO NOT fill out this paperwork or send out your credit card number without exactly knowing what you are purchasing. You may end up falling for a scam that has transferred your domain name to another registry. This can cause you to pay unnecessary fees, or even lose your domain name.
Domain scammers should not deter you from establishing a domain name. Websites are crucial for your small business to succeed. For questions about setting up a website contact our team at Hometown Marketing Group.
