As a new customer of NameCheap.com, I correctly signed up for an
account on 02-02-2008, all went perfectly ok.
Then a week later I ordered 3 .Com domains and 3 .Info Domains, All
went ok.. I transfered money from my correct creditcard in my account
at namecheap, I ordered the domians and all payments went ok. Also
were the 6 domains registered correctly and succesfully at my name and
account. I got a correct confirmation from namecheap AND all domains
were visible on my name in WHOIS.
SO far so good.
BUT!!! The next day, completely OUT-OF-THE_BLUE I got a oneline email
saying my transaction was revoked . Dot, no other information at all.
SO I logged in to namecheap and found my ACCOUNT WAS BLOCKED by
namecheap.
ALSO..WHOIS revealed ALL my correctly and legally purchased and PAID
domains were suddenly no longer registered on my name (??)

I complied with the text on their namecheap-website about "unlocking"
a blocked account by SENDING an email to them directly FROM my email
account that was listed in my original namecheap sign-up.
I complied to this correctly, with a question WHAT is going on anyway?

Then nothing happened..the account stays locked, my domains seem gone,
and I can't even get access to over 100 USD still in my account.
Sending several emails to support@namecheap, as well as webforms did
not solve anything either so far.

Namecheap did NOT call me, even when they have my number allready from
start.
All do did was sent me an email that I HAVE to send them a PASSPORT
COPY ??

And they still don't call, give ANY answer to ANY question I politely
asked about WHAT is happening, WHY? and WHAT happens with my account,
domains, money in my account?

WHAT should I do??
I purchased correctly a product at their online namecheap.com-website,
and they basicly revoke not just my account, also your just registered
domains and your account-cash is suddenly locked.
AND THEY DO NOT GIVE A SINGLE CLUE OF INFORMATION AND THEY KEEP
CHANGING THEIR REQUIREMENTS TO ME FOR GIVING ME ANY INFORMATION ...
It feels very intimidating, unproductive and fairly rude, towards a
new customer without ANY issue or lack of verifiable information (thye
have my correct creditcard details ok, and my IP is correct and all
stays the same).

Anyone an idea what to do? Do people have similar experiences?
I'm possibly NOT used to this kind of extremely one-sided "customer"-
care, is this typical or an exeption? I don't trust any online
company like this anymore and informed my creditcard company.. what to
do..?

Sincerely,

What was the domain you wanted?

Paul

My allreday registered domains were about solar energy and windenergy.
If they revoke an account to take back allready sold and registered domains, it seems fairly illegal activity and might constitute very disturbing business practices, since the domains WERE ALLREADY LISTED on my name in WHOIS. I suppose this is very serious issue if this is the case. I don't know any information from them yet. (luckily, I do have screenshots and downloads of the domains I registered as well as WHOIS records that show they WERE registered correctly on my name, as well as that I paid correctly for them). It would be a huge mistake if this would be the case for any legal company to act in such manner. I have no clue, but it sounds very worrying ;)

Hello Webcaro,


You were emailed that your account was placed on hold for suspiscion of fraud. Something with your account raised red flags and your account was placed on hold. In order to protect our fraud prevention methods, we will not go into details of this.

We advised you via email that you need to send us a copy of your ID in order to get the domain unlocked and you have refused to do so. Most companies require this for every transaction. We only ask it for the ones we deem suspicious.

Fraud prevention is just part of doing business the internet today. Without it, we wouldn't be in business very long.

You have already been credited your initial payment while we investigated, if you don't want to comply with what we ask, let us know and we will delete the domains so you can register them elsewhere.

[QUOTE=webcaro;4957345]Do people have similar experiences?
QUOTE]

Not at all, we have very good experiences with them .. I don't understand why u just don't send what they ask for if u have nothing to hide ?

I knew there would be a genuine reason.

Besides, who sends an registrar over $100 when they are only gonna register a few domains? Whenever I buy a domain from namecheap I only transfer the amount needed.

Paul

First , it is good to hear a reply from Richard, from Namecheap it seems.

It is the FIRST time namecheap tells me clearly there is a FRAUD issue somewhere at their site,
so I think I have a right to know what it constitutes, since my creditcard, and all about me is ok.
Did someone try to hack into namecheap? is there an isssue with a creditcard?
Not with my creditcard, neither with my details or my internet or whatever.
SO I still have no clue what caused this, which leaves me with the question about the security of namecheap or with how secure it is to order online there?

What trust it gives me for future?

Also, by not telling me what happens, I lost my trust, yes.
They ask for me to scan a passport and sent it over internet somewhere, when thye did not even want to tell me what is going on, so would YOU sent a passport to some company who locks you out outside any of your own correct behaviour?
IF a p[assport is rquired to buy a dotcom domian..sure, then they should ask before ordering and all is ok.
Thye have my correct email and creditcard and address and details to verify , so how shlould I feel?
The way some of the later replies indicate..you guys miss the point.. "I knew something" etc, well..you seem to KNOW/KNEW more then thye tell me or I can guess.

As for putting cash in an account..I was planning to purchase hosting as well, and it's safer to transfer an amount sufficiently online in one transaction then doing it several times, that way I can do further purchases from my namecheap account and dont have to sent creditcrad details again later, thye have that information and so it's safer for all.

The fact is i correctly behave and compliedin sending an email and so, but thye refuse to even tell me something or somehow there is fraud involved somewhere.but definitely NOT from my side.
To me, it is very shocking and the correct way to act is to CALL or email the account holkder and ASK if there is any question about information.
This way you sem to put suspicion on a customer for no reason, and i feel quite upset about it, yes i do.

To me, it is very shocking and the correct way to act is to CALL or email the account holkder and ASK if there is any question about information.No, the correct way is to do as Richard has said.

If you have nothing to hide then send them the requested documents, if not then tell Richard so that he can delete the domains and refund your money so you can try and register them elsewhere.

Paul

This was our second email to you after about 3 to 4 hours very early this morning:

"Posted on: 12 Feb 2008 02:14 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello,
Your account was temporary locked by our fraud prevention team. Please provide us with a copy of your photo ID (passport) and a valid phone number and the best time to call you (within normal business hours, US Pacific time) so we will be able to discuss this.


Regards,
Jerry G.
Namecheap.com "




All you have to do is comply once and your account will be marked as verified and this will never happen to you again.


You also stated that we didn't reply to you for 48 hours when you just registered your domains yesterday and your initial email to us was late last night. We have replied to you four times since to two seperate tickets.

I think it is strange that you dont call me in first place.
You say there is an issue with login atempts and ask me to sent an email. I do.
Then nothing happens and I email you.
Jerry asks me my account name..I give it.
Then still nobody tells me there is fraud, nobody calls me.

Then I get email with a request tos ent a passport and you say the Fraud-prevetion team locked the account. BUT NOT FOR WHAT REASON and what caused it.
If ALL you say in amn email to me is , after repeated mails, that the "fraud prevention team" locked the account, it can mean the entire namecheap site is hacked, or that it's some account, or whatevre.
You dont explain that someone ouside seems to hack certain accounts?
You dont hav eto discuss or give details here, but I still have no clue why my account is blocked.
>>> AN initial and immediate email ASKING me as an account holde rfor an iD or information AS SOON as your fraud-team discovers SOMETHING UNKNOWN TO ME, would hav ebeen correct, inform a customer and sent me an email or call me and say something like: unfortunately we had to block your account for security reasons, please get in touch and discuss this with namecheap. "
Then after a cal I can verufy it is namecheap who calls me and I can of course sent an id if needed, no problem.
But you only come up with that without giving me any information and the order of events is very confusing and worrying from my point.
All i do is make an account at namecheap and correctly order 6 domains and all goes ok, then all goes wrong behind my back. without any message from your fraud-team towards me in first place. I had to mail several times and only hear the messgae "the fraud team locked your accopunt" actually indicates that there is something going on with MY account. and i still hav eno idea what part geos wrong. it is definetly NOT me as a person, business or my creditcard or domains.
So since it is things beyond my knowledge and control, I am indeed worried about online safety now.

Webcaro,

You are posting many non-facts in this thread and elsewhere and rather than continue to carry on in this same manner and risk acting unprofessionally, I am going to step back. All I ask is that you let us know if you are going to comply with what we ask or not. You can do so here or in the open ticket in our helpdesk that awaits you.

If we do not hear an answer from you within 24 hours we are going to delete the domains so you can register them elsewhere. Your initial payment to us was previously voided so you don't have to worry about that.

I think things are very clear.. namecheap failed to inform me as a customer and is unable to give any re-assurence about thier safety, so I totally agree it is better to stop this discussion and register my accounts elsewhere. Pity, since I came to namecheap for positive reasons, but it is unworkable when accounts are blocked and domains are revoked without any prior knowledge or requests for advice, and I need to go aftre it mnyself and only get demands for emails and later id's, without someone telling me initially hwat goes on.
WHAT if all is solved, what chance a customer has that this happens again at anytime ?

Maybe as a european I'm not used to this way of communicating with a company I trade with.
Any simple call to me would hav edone in firts place.

regards

I never had any similiar experiences with namecheap, I only transfer the amount needed to register an domain from my paypal account. I honestly believe that namecheap is better than godaddy as godaddy is more stricter than namecheap. Richard, I love your guy's service and You guys have prompt fast registrations for domains. I highly appreciate Namecheap. As for this fraud issue, I honestly wouldnt deposit $100 inside my account by using my credit card. Thats just preposterus! I would do that if i was planning to buy an bulk of domains or ssl certs or hosting. But I wouldnt use an credit card though because i just dont like using my credit card.

Again, I rate Namecheap a 100 out of a 10!

They are the best, godaddy control panel maangement area is by the far worst control panel ever because it is hard to manage.

And I am on richard's side because i would do that too because it sounds suspicous for fraud. I'm sure they were just taking precautions so dont worry as richard said he would delete the domains and the money was already voided so they arent stealing anything from you. And you should send an passport as if its fraud. they need confirmation that the transcation isnt fraud.

Well this is just my 2 cents.

Regards,
Andrew S.

webcaro,

All they want is you to verify your identity, to prove there is nothing going on with your account.

If you refuse to do this then namecheap is correct in restricting your access, all that you need to know is that they suspect that your account is being used fraudently and that they want ID.

Paul

No problem, I'll get those domains deleted for you asap. Good luck with your next registrar. :)

@webcaro

It is a very common procedure a company to use screening technology to prevent credit card fraud. Losses due to account application fraud, account takeover, and identity theft are critical challenges for card issuers to address. Depending on fraud risk prediction scores the customer may be asked to fax ID and/or CC, phone, send a signed contract by snail mail, etc.

Take a look at this http://www.tamingthebeast.net/articles2/card-fraud-strategies.htm

Its a sincere pity that the order of events seems to get mixed up.
I NEVER refused anthing in first place, thye did NOT suspend my account because I dont sent an id, thye REVOKED my account without knowledge, THEN asked tos ent email,, I disd correctly.
THEN i asked what is going on..got no information , but suddenly thye ask an id after two days and still no information. so I understand there was OSME , unknown fraud issue siomewhere and in the end ask an id to even inform or call me. That is the other way around and seems disturbing. Thye verified my creditcard and mu id correctly and all is ok. So there was no reason to NOT inform or contact me i feel. Not the other way around. I hav enothing to hide, thye know my verifeid and legal deatils and these are 100% correct and allright. it feels like doing shopping and you paid correct at the counter and thye arrest you for something you never did, and only want to tell you what for after you give your DNA .. thank you. Of course it's not an issue , but the trust is gone and their site seems to have serious fraude issues that pervent em nfrom just being a happy customer. it's a very bad start and so I decide to move on and let it go. Good luck to you all.

well.. I agree with dotHOSTEL. I work myself for an online company..but we TELL a customer if there is a creditcard issue and ASK. It seems NOT be the case here at all.. my creditcard is ok. I still hav eno clue what is going on. IF you have any issues with a customers details..you communicate that in a simpe matter to a customer and say" we need some more information to verify your account".
Imagine your BANK revoking YOUR bank account for no reason and refuse to inform you, tell you why? HOW would that feel? Again.. I have no clue what caused this, and ... namecheap seems to ONLY ASK MY ID to be willing to call me as a customer, that is something different then asking about an ID for fraude or payment reasons. if so, thye should ask and state correctly..

Also..I am used tos ent a written confirmation after any online order for domians..it is normal in .NL domians as well..is never a problem, since the online companies INFORM you and sent you a n immediate request to do so aftre your order. an dthye CALL me if thye have any question, thye INFORM and REPLY with information. and thye don't suddenly block an account and first ask A, and when you comply, come up with B. If you cant see the difference..so be it. I am correct as a decent customer to ask some relevant information when these suden things happen around my back for days without any answers or getting in touch in first place. I gave all my correct information allready a week before and am always open to give any answers to business partners if requested, Thing is, they unfortunately did not manage to ask me anything or inform me about what is going on.

While it's nice if a business calls to explain what happened, no one is required to do so. It's indeed a risk threshold, cost-benefit thing.

Good luck to you as well, webcaro. At least you know what to expect with the next registrar you're considering, including those US-based.

Just a matter of expectations.

It is surprisng how biased some guys seem and you tend to be unable to READ the actual order of things.
There is not any issue at all with me or my creditcard or payment.
If namecheap states "void", they are suggesting something that they did not tell me, neither my creditcard company ( I verified again today with them, and there was never any problem or check, all is ok, the money was paid ok, etc.).
SO why this issue of revoking domains and blocking an account with no clear, prior information, turned into a "fraud"issue by users here on this forum who seem in many cases members of namecheap's own staff?

Also..I think it is strange and again not very re-assuring customer service to post copies of internal emails from namecheap to their customer here on a public forum, even before I get a chance to read their email myself.
Please read the full texts here and they basicly come up with the fraud thing (unknown and unproven to me) AFTER I did complain about not being able to unlock my account that was suddenly blocked for NO REASON to me as a customer (just after I registered domains ).
Only after that, namecheap came up with the ID question, NEVER before.

SO this should have been a case for their CUSTOMER service in first place, not sending in a fraud-team on someone who acts as a good customer in all accounts.

If you can't see the difference in attitude, America will become a very sad and frightnng place in future;) I have a right to know what happened to my account, balance, domains and so.

namecheap posted earlier they could not tell you why your account was flagged for possible fraud, as this would give information to scammers on how to circumvent the system they have.
All you had to do was send in ID and a phone number where they would call you and this would be solved.

If you can't see the difference in attitude, America will become a very sad and frightnng place in future;) I have a right to know what happened to my account, balance, domains and so.



So let me get this straight; because NameCheap.com placed on hold on your account for suspected fraud, all of sudden this affects the future of America? I didn't know we had that kind of influence.

Are you sitting around in one of these as well:

http://rightvoices.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/tinfoil-hat.jpg :)

So let me get this straight; because NameCheap.com placed on hold on your account for suspected fraud, all of sudden this affects the future of America? I didn't know we had that kind of influence.

Are you sitting around in one of these as well:

http://rightvoices.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/tinfoil-hat.jpg :)

no that's me rick ;)

SO this should have been a case for their CUSTOMER service in first place, not sending in a fraud-team on someone who acts as a good customer in all accounts.

Webcaro:

As a new customer of NameCheap.com

NameCheap probably won't need to do that if you're indeed their long-time customer of good standing. You may be a "good customer" with, say, a different host, but that's no justification for a different provider to assume you'll be "good" to them as well.

I re-read the entire thread and saw Richard posting a copy of their email reply to your issue. They didn't and don't necessarily need to post, say, your exact query to them about it, word for word, including your contact details.

After all, you brought up the issue here. If you don't like being challenged about it, then don't post about it in the first place.

Anyone have the plans for those foil hats? ;)

I don't think that it is a big deal at all that someone might deposit $100 into a deposit account for future transactions. Especially if they have to pay exchange on every card transaction because purchases are denominated in dollars and the card is denominated in dutch guilders. If namecheap doesn't want to deal with deposit accounts, then don't offer them.

What is strange is people wandering around thinking that it is perfectly fine to demand a copy of a passport. You might demand alternate payment, further confirmation by telephone, a utility bill, whatever. But a passport? No, thank you very much! Please go away.

Or maybe, "Sure, right after I receive a copy of yours to verify the identity of the requestor. BTW, I archive a copy of all communications received, in perpetuity.".

The vendor has an account number, a name, an address, a phone number. So, cross reference the name, address and phone number using an online phone directory. And pick up the frickin' phone!

Got a skype account? Ever heard of unlimited long distance?

I don't think that it is a big deal at all that someone might deposit $100 into a deposit account for future transactions.

Just as you don't think that, others don't think it's a big deal to ask for a copy of a government-issued ID or even to provide one upon request. That's where the acronym YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) comes in.

There are indeed various options. While provider A can do this or that, no other provider is required to do it the same way provider A does it, especially if it's possibly too costly and time-consuming with no guarantees of fruitful results.

It's up to the provider to decide on their own how to go about it.

A word of warning to webcaro. If you don't get onside with providing proof of identification and you get refunded, and NameCheap deletes the domains, you can't assume that you can then register them elsewhere. Because they could well be picked up by a drop-catcher even before you have a chance to re-register them. This is one possible scenario. The other would be you could re-register some or all of those domains. Despite what you might think about NameCheap or Richard at this point, I would not take the risk of those domains being dropped. I'd send the identification they've asked for and transfer the domains elsewhere after 60 days.

Personally, I think NameCheap was very clear what was going on and the order that everything occurred. I believe that this is just a misunderstanding on the OP's part. Too bad as the OP could have cleared this up quickly and smoothly if he had just sent the picture ID and phone number as requested. I have seen this happen with other online companies I have dealt with and while it is a little frustrating when you don't have anything to hide it is a quick and easy way to complete the transaction successfully. The OP did not comply and is doing nothing more than complaining.

I think demanding a passport be sent is madness, I certainly would have registered elsewhere!

I think demanding a passport be sent is madness

Probably the main reason a provider would ask for a passport is if the prospect is outside the country. It's somewhat easier to check with that passport's embassy or so.

Just giving an explanation, although such concerns are understandable. I'm not too keen about it, either.

I think a provider asks an official ID as safeguard in case of credit card disputes which commonly arises -- as unauthorized use of your card, when someone steals, borrows, or otherwise uses your card or card number without permission.

Once you have raised a dispute, the credit card company is required to investigate and report back to you in writing. In many cases, the charge will be canceled. Often a merchant whose billing is challenged will back off rather than risk losing the privilege of accepting business by credit card.

I think demanding a passport be sent is madness, I certainly would have registered elsewhere!

As you can see from our email to this person, we asked for a valid ID and a passport was given as an example. Any official ID would suffice. This person chose not to even discuss this point and was dead set against providing anything.

It's not like we are some fly by night company. If he thought so, he never should have trusted entering his credit card details which could be much more damaging than a scan or a fax of an ID.

I guess you never deal with fraud with your business.

Please don't say an overseas phonecall would be enough. We have made plenty and people have answered the phone that were fraud as well. We deal with thousands of transactions a day and ask for validation on maybe 1% of those. Let's not make mountains out of molehills here.

Richard,

Found you here with a little help from google. I am a new customer with what appears to be same issue. Registered new account at namecheap, in order to arrange transfer and hosting of our site from current admin (who is also namecheap customer).

Whois indicates transfer was successful, but now I am locked out of account for what seems to be same 'red flags' indicated in this discussion thread. I have provided verification information through the conversation details in the trouble ticket, but rec'd response that it will take days for verification. Come on guys, that's epochs for our site to be down! I am a new customer, I want to like namecheap and have a good business relationship. Help me do that. Ticket is 56373, happy to provide more details to you privately. Thank you.

The nameservers don't change when you transfer registrars. So your site should still be working.

stu, that's good info, at least now i can start efforts in hopefully the right direction(s). thank you

Richard,

Found you here with a little help from google. I am a new customer with what appears to be same issue. Registered new account at namecheap, in order to arrange transfer and hosting of our site from current admin (who is also namecheap customer).

Whois indicates transfer was successful, but now I am locked out of account for what seems to be same 'red flags' indicated in this discussion thread. I have provided verification information through the conversation details in the trouble ticket, but rec'd response that it will take days for verification. Come on guys, that's epochs for our site to be down! I am a new customer, I want to like namecheap and have a good business relationship. Help me do that. Ticket is 56373, happy to provide more details to you privately. Thank you.


Hi Tom,

I checked on this ticket and saw that is was resolved. Thank you for your business

Matt

for the scale of NameCheap, i believe they should have a set of rules to detect potential frauds automatically, same as many online companies.

By scoring your country, address, deposit amount, exceed balance, registered email address, postal, hops etc, to determine if they'd lock an account and request for additional ID prove.

I think you just have to get used to this procedure when purchase online, especially when you are buying from foreign countries. You'll face this time to time no matter what companies you are dealing with.

As you can see from our email to this person, we asked for a valid ID and a passport was given as an example. Any official ID would suffice. This person chose not to even discuss this point and was dead set against providing anything.

It's not like we are some fly by night company. If he thought so, he never should have trusted entering his credit card details which could be much more damaging than a scan or a fax of an ID.

I guess you never deal with fraud with your business.

Please don't say an overseas phonecall would be enough. We have made plenty and people have answered the phone that were fraud as well. We deal with thousands of transactions a day and ask for validation on maybe 1% of those. Let's not make mountains out of molehills here.

Well there are ways to check if the concerned party is fraud or not without digging up much from the end user. I am not sure its appropriate to ask one's passport for verification. I hope so NameCheap is not FBI:D

for the scale of NameCheap, i believe they should have a set of rules to detect potential frauds automatically, same as many online companies.

By scoring your country, address, deposit amount, exceed balance, registered email address, postal, hops etc, to determine if they'd lock an account and request for additional ID prove.

I think you just have to get used to this procedure when purchase online, especially when you are buying from foreign countries. You'll face this time to time no matter what companies you are dealing with.

We have a number of fraud prevention methods in place, including automatic scanning of new orders. However, fraudsters continue to develop new measures to get around screening/protection put in place so we manually screen orders on top of this. Like Richard said, this is for the client and the cardholders safety.

Hello Webcaro,


You were emailed that your account was placed on hold for suspiscion of fraud. Something with your account raised red flags and your account was placed on hold. In order to protect our fraud prevention methods, we will not go into details of this.

We advised you via email that you need to send us a copy of your ID in order to get the domain unlocked and you have refused to do so. Most companies require this for every transaction. We only ask it for the ones we deem suspicious.

Fraud prevention is just part of doing business the internet today. Without it, we wouldn't be in business very long.

You have already been credited your initial payment while we investigated, if you don't want to comply with what we ask, let us know and we will delete the domains so you can register them elsewhere.

Sounds fishy... sounds like Pay Pal and eBay and their "fraud" methods.

Why would he have to sign over his ID to you? If anything a fax of a current bill sent to his home address would have been proof enough.

Just a tip to domain resellers or purchasers... this is why I switched to dealing directly with eNom.

Show them your ID. Simple. You didn't pass a fraud test. It's your own fault for dragging this on and being so difficult when this is a normal practice in this industry.

Namecheap is an excellent registrar and have always been since i've been with them.

Why would he have to sign over his ID to you?

The OP doesn't have to, just as NameCheap doesn't have to do anything for him if the OP isn't willing.

Sounds fishy... sounds like Pay Pal and eBay and their "fraud" methods.

Why would he have to sign over his ID to you? If anything a fax of a current bill sent to his home address would have been proof enough.

Just a tip to domain resellers or purchasers... this is why I switched to dealing directly with eNom.

We gave some examples of which ID he could use. The list was not definitive. I find it strange how us wanting to protect cardholders and ourselves is now considered fishy. Perhaps you don't deal with fraud on a daily basis?

Sounds fishy... sounds like Pay Pal and eBay and their "fraud" methods.

Why would he have to sign over his ID to you? If anything a fax of a current bill sent to his home address would have been proof enough.

Just a tip to domain resellers or purchasers... this is why I switched to dealing directly with eNom.

if you know the size of namecheap, then i believe it won't sound fishy to you. ;)