Just wondering, what happens when someone places fake information for their domain? I looked up a whois for a domain name, and realized the user had all 11111's and 123456etc.. No real addres, only first name.. etc..

Isn't their a rule against this?

yes there is a rule, but nobody likes a snitch so i'd stay out of it..
fake info doesn't hurt anyone, it's just silly politics, and the domain owner is the only one risking anything.

so what happens if your using a domain and have places phony contact details? I also have a domain with phony numbers, just to protect myself.

What happens if someone report the user to the registrar or ICANN?

The rules are the rules for reasons. It's not "just silly politics." If you're using fake information, your registrar is well within their rights to delete your domain. They may or may not contact you first about correcting the information.

What, exactly, are you protecting yourself from by using bogus information? What's wrong with using valid contact info?

In the worst case, Domainitor, someone could steal your identity from this public information. Practically, it's not having to change your email address every couple of months because of the amount of junk mail which is sent there after somebody has scraped the whois database for emails and it's got on some spammers list of valid emails. And it will. Getting junk snail mail is least of the inconveniences.

I'm not buying it. Identity theft requires a heck of a lot more information than someone's address.

If the issue is spam, then I can see it on some levels. Unfortunately, ICANN et al have put rules in place that prevent registrars from protecting WHOIS data from harvesters. And I can't imagine that the thick registries have put anything in place to protect their databases.

"Protect" is a pretty strong word if spam's the reason.

FreshFroot: What are you trying to protect against?

There could be lot of reasons why some one gave wrong details for domain.

But if you have some problem with that domain you can always complain to the registry, other wise why to poke your nose in some one else's business if its not hearting any one, are you doing every thing as per rules?

But yes instead of giving wrong information I would prefer to get it privacy protected at Registrar's level, that way my domain is safe, at least my registrar will contact me to remove privacy protection.

someone could claim that the domain is stolen. therefore to safeguard urself against these claims you should always mention correct WHOIS record.

The rules are the rules for reasons. It's not "just silly politics." If you're using fake information, your registrar is well within their rights to delete your domain. They may or may not contact you first about correcting the information.

What, exactly, are you protecting yourself from by using bogus information? What's wrong with using valid contact info?

The reasons are that with correct whois information everyone would know who the correct owner is, and there would be no issues with domain theft or faulty records.
Everyone wants correct information from their customers, no matter what field or thing they are selling, it makes everything proper and functional.

But at the level domains work at in this day and age DOES make it silly politics, because there are so many domains with faulty info that never get found, and the owner never loses his domain.

It would certainly help if everyone had the correct info, but it wouldn't matter either, depending on how big the domain is.
The owner is the only one who risks losing his domain, other than that it doesn't hurt anyone.

I used to put in my home address etc for my domains but I always had private WHOIS. Now, I just want to save money and I just put my university's address, and which room I am studying in :P

So now all we need to know is one of your domains and we can come and stalk you :)

A whoisguard email is not a spam trap or filter and all emails & spam sent to it will get forwarded.

My (not-hidden) whois email does not get a lot of spam. If spam is a concern then just use a different gmail account for your domains.

My (not-hidden) whois email does not get a lot of spam. If spam is a concern then just use a different gmail account for your domains.

Exactly.

So now all we need to know is one of your domains and we can come and stalk you

If your issue is a fear of being stalked, get a post office box, or use your attorney's address.

I don't see a lot of difference between using a PO Box or attorney's address than using a privacy address.

I don't see a lot of difference between using a PO Box or attorney's address than using a privacy address.

While the same on a conceptual level, the post office and your attorney won't disclose your private details when an idle threat is made -- legal process is required. The privacy services I've seen crumble and expose all of your info when someone says "Boo!"

And, back to the point of the thread in the first place: they aren't fake data.

My whois email gets 1-5 spam emails a day.... it's less than my non-whois emails :D My regular ones get ~100+/day each. Maybe I should make them my whois email and get less spam....

The privacy services I've seen crumble and expose all of your info when someone says "Boo!"

Care to mention which whois privacy services you've seen crumble?

I've use various registrars privacy service for clients and some of my own domains. I'd rather not use it if the service can be defeated by simply calling/e-mailing the registrar and feeding them some BS.

That is the real truth.

Any one can simply lodge a Fake Whois Complaint with the registrar or with ICANN, they only have to give:
Domain Name:
Name:
Email:

And the registrar will immediately ask you to remove Whois Protection.

Care to mention which whois privacy services you've seen crumble?

Go read GoDaddy's "Domains By Proxy" agreement, especially Section 4. If anyone claims that your domain is used for spam, or if it's something that they, in their own judgement, deem "immoral," they have the right to suspend their service, which then exposes your details. It's typical of the agreements that I've seen.

If your registrant information isn't real or accurate, you may run into trouble with your registrar or worse, ICANN.

What could be worse than running into trouble with ICANN? Maybe afternoon too with the inlaws grandparents. ha ha.

What could be worse than running into trouble with ICANN? Maybe afternoon too with the inlaws grandparents. ha ha. The emperor has no clothes. :)

I have little admission to make. When I stumble upon some domain name I would like to have, I check whois info and if it looks fake I report it to ICAAN. So far I did not "win" any domain names this way but it is simple thing to do and it might work.

If you want to help make whois data more accurate:
http://wdprs.internic.net/

If I was ever accused of using a fake address for my domain names (which fortunatly I have never felt the need to do as yet), then my answer to either the registrar or ICANN would simply be:

Prove it in a court of law.

If they can prove it, fair enough. If not, they have to prove it prior to deleting the domain name. It doesnt matter what they state in their terms and conditions regarding addresses etc, if they cannot prove your details are false, then they wont have a hope in hell of winning a court case, especially if you CAN prove your details are completely legitimate.

:)

If I was ever accused of using a fake address for my domain names (which fortunatly I have never felt the need to do as yet), then my answer to either the registrar or ICANN would simply be:

Prove it in a court of law.

If they can prove it, fair enough. If not, they have to prove it prior to deleting the domain name. It doesnt matter what they state in their terms and conditions regarding addresses etc, if they cannot prove your details are false, then they wont have a hope in hell of winning a court case, especially if you CAN prove your details are completely legitimate.

:)

Well what are you going to do, when you have received notice from the Registrar that update your contact details (for your main domain on which your entire business/livelyhood/bread & butter depends) within 5 days else your domain will be suspended.

Will you be going to the court, dooming your business or proving to them (ICANN/Registrar) within the time frame that your address in whois is correct?

So far I did not "win" any domain names this way but it is simple thing to do and it might work.

As you've learned, reporting a domain name for invalid WHOIS doesn't guarantee you'll "win" the domain name.

Prove it in a court of law.

They don't have to prove it in a court of law. It's part of the terms of the contract you agree to when you register a domain name with a registrar.

But if you feel the registrar didn't do as agreed upon in your contract with them, it's your burden to prove that in court. If you lose, the worst you can expect is they'll sue you for breach of contract.

Personally I think you should keep the whois incase someone contacts you with a decent offer.

I personally report fake whois details.

I find im surprised people are stupid enuth to make alot of them so obvious

Terms and conditions are all well and good, but they have to be lawful as well.

In the past 3 years people in the UK have been claiming hundreds, in a lot of cases thousands of pounds back from their bank's due to charges.

Yes these charges are clearly stated in the banks terms and conditions and yes we do agree to them when we sign up for a bank account. But that doesnt make them lawful, hence the banks are being forced to pay people back the full amounts they have charged.

In a court of law, the terms and conditions don't hold much ground unless they are completely fair and fully within the scope of the law. If a domain registrar were to delete a domain name because Joe Bloggs said your WHOIS information is incorrect, and you can prove without any doubt it is correct, then it doesnt matter what their terms and conditions say, they can be held liable for loss of business and loss of earnings etc.

If, on the other hand, they obtain reasonable and fairly solid evidence to point towards the fact your WHOIS details are incorrect, then you wouldnt have much chance, but on the say so of Joe Bloggs it just wouldnt wash with a judge.

To be honest, if you were to take a registrar/ICANN to court over something like this, its almost guaranteed they wouldnt even bother defending themselves in the case, for the simple reason if they did, and they lost, it would set a precident for masses of people to become almost instantly eligable for refunds on the basis of loss of earnings, loss of intellectual property etc... They would most likely not defend themselves and just let you have the domain name back.

:)

Most Registrar's ToS limit their liabilities to the reg fees. I think that would hold up in court. But, then I'm not a lawyer to argue the finer points of the law.

To be honest, if you were to take a registrar/ICANN to court over something like this, its almost guaranteed they wouldnt even bother defending themselves in the case, for the simple reason if they did, and they lost, it would set a precident for masses of people to become almost instantly eligable for refunds on the basis of loss of earnings, loss of intellectual property etc... They would most likely not defend themselves and just let you have the domain name back.

I don't know how European laws and courts deal with registrars like Joker and Gandi. But if you're talking about US-based registrars in general, then you might want to look for the Size Inc. v Network Solutions case if you're up to it.

In the worst case, Domainitor, someone could steal your identity from this public information. Practically, it's not having to change your email address every couple of months because of the amount of junk mail which is sent there after somebody has scraped the whois database for emails and it's got on some spammers list of valid emails. And it will. Getting junk snail mail is least of the inconveniences.

Thats why they invented Privacy Protection. Try using it.

Thats why they invented Privacy Protection. Try using it.

You're preaching to the converted, Mikie :)

...except me. I'm not even close to being converted.

I'm trying desperately to understand why people feel a need to play Secret Agent with their contact info. Here are the reasons given thus far, and why I'm having trouble buying them:

- Identity theft: Not nearly enough information for someone to steal your identity.

- Fear of stalking: Use a PO Box or your attorney/lawyer/solicitor's address.

- Spam: Not consistently an issue; use a throw-away or well-filtered e'ddress.

If you're involved in something illegal or unsavory, I still can't see it because your registrar will give up all of the information they have to proper authorities which would include IP addresses, payment details, and so on, so you're findable by the authorities. Unless you're a real secret agent, in which case you're not even reading this.

Some companies use Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) tactics in their marketing. And the media doesn't help much with it's poorly-reported stories, instilling paranoia in the general public.

Is the reason simply unfounded fear?

From whom are you trying to hide?

Another reason,

Anonymous hostname

Many companies setup those anonymous hostname where they setup reseller accounts.

I'm a surreal secret agent ;)

I'm a surreal secret agent ;)

And what's that?

It's a joke. Play on words with Domainitor's "real secret agent".

- Fear of stalking: Use a PO Box or your attorney/lawyer/solicitor's address.
Most of us youngsters who have sites as portfolios/personal can't afford a lawyer :/

Most of us youngsters who have sites as portfolios/personal can't afford a lawyer :/

How about a P.O. Box, then?

But from what are you hiding? As a "youngster" surely there's nothing significant from which to hide....

Having a real contact address definitely has benefits in the WHOIS database. The registerfly example is a perfect case where having YOUR details and not a privacy service is important. As far as reporting fake whois to try and gain personally... that's kind of funny. If you can afford to compete for a deleted domain name you should probably just buy the domain outright, an expired name is going to cost just the same if not often more. You'd be better off spending your time in a more worthwhile endeavor, imo.