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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Posts
    119

    "Domain Registry of America" Deceiving People?

    I was wondering if anyone else has been getting deceptively worded communications from a registrar called "Domain Registry of America"?

    Today in my (physical) mail I received a letter from them urging me to "renew" one of my domains registered through Internet BS. The letter included something like "we are sending you this notice as a result of a privatization of the domain registry" and used "renew" instead of "transfer" everywhere except in small print below the signature line of the "renewal" form they wanted me to send back.

    This seems more than a little deceptive because not only are they writing as if you must "renew" through them, but their name, "Domain Registry of America", sounds very official, not to mention that they want the exorbitant rate of $35/year for a .com. This wouldn't fool most people here, but has anyone else been getting these kinds of letters from them?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    US/UK/MY
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    3,042
    They've been doing it for years, so apparently what they're doing is not against the law.

    It's still a pretty shadey tactic though.
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Fairfax, California
    Posts
    1,226
    Yup I get those all the time.
    Just threw them away, but I might call them and give them a hard time. Got a phone number?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Memphis, TN
    Posts
    3,285
    Call them and get removed, I did it while ago and have not received one in quite a while.
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Fairfax, California
    Posts
    1,226
    Exactly what I want to do, except I don't have any sitting around
    Do you have to do it per domain? Because I get multiple because I have multiple domains...

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    New York, NY
    Posts
    330
    They've been doing this for at least 5-6 years (if not more). We've had a few clients who got duped by the letter.
    Alex Melen
    █ Co-CEO at SmartSites (established 2011)
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  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Minneapolis
    Posts
    118
    They've been doing this for a long, long time. It looks like a bill. If I remember right they had to add "this is not an invoice" or something similar to the letter because it was too confusing for people.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    896
    It's a scam. I've gotten hundreds of those, just bin them.
    I could tell you a joke about UDP. But I'm not sure you would get it!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    4,667
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name_scams
    "In 2002, the UK Advertising Watchdog Authority (ASA) slammed Domain Registry of Europe over similar mail shots.[14][15]
    In response to this, Alan Freeman, Relations Manager for DRoE, said that the company - which also trades as Domain Registry of America and Domain Registry of Canada - had registered 1.1 million domains for customers and was registering between 5,000 and 7,000 new domains a day."


    http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/12/domainreg.shtm
    In 2003... "Under the terms of the stipulated final order announced today, Domain Registry of America (DROA), based in Ontario, Canada, may be required to provide redress to up to 50,000 consumers, is prohibited from engaging in similar conduct in the future, and is subject to stringent monitoring by the Commission to ensure its compliance with the court order.

    DROA is a re-seller of domain name registration services for a company called eNom, Inc. (eNom), an accredited registrar of Internet domain names."

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Woodbridge, NJ
    Posts
    840
    I get one of this at least once a year for every domain that I own. They go straight into the circular file.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Hong Kong+Toronto
    Posts
    1,254
    Well certainly nothing new. Unfortunately they operate in a grey area I don't see which institution would be able to stop them

  12. #12
    But isnt there any way to stop them.. There should be some way / authority where this could be highlighted and a complaint could be raised... Cant the United States cyber laws have anything to do to control them...

  13. #13
    Yes they have been doing this for a long time, one of my our client paid them£65 for her domain name renewal before she realise that she has made a mistake. If you get a letter from Domain Registry of America just throw it away.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by junodavid View Post
    But isnt there any way to stop them.. There should be some way / authority where this could be highlighted and a complaint could be raised... Cant the United States cyber laws have anything to do to control them...
    They indeed would've been stopped long ago if things are necessarily black and white. I'm honestly surprised DROA's lasted this long until now and still at it.

    Fortunately it's not unsolvable. As others said, just toss their notice in the trash bin.

  15. #15
    Definitely shady, definitely deceptive but very hard to combat without new legislation preventing it.

    As stated above, this is an ongoing issue which likely won't go away anytime soon.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    2,042
    The problem is... they are probably not breaking any laws.

    They are a genuine registration services provider (registrar or reseller, not sure which).

    If you move your domains to them they will manage them for you in much the same way as any other registrar/reseller. They charge a lot more than their competitors, but that in itself is not a crime. So it's not a case of taking customers' money and running with it - they do provide a genuine service.

    Their letters are made to look like invoices, but the small print (VERY small print) makes it clear that they aren't. Deceptive - yes. Illegal - no. The information is there, just not easy to find.

    What they do is extremely unethical - they trick people into parting with large sums of money. But, unfortunately, there seem to be no laws about trading in ways that are unethical, so the only thing we can do about DROA is spread the word and warn people against their business practices.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Nirvana
    Posts
    1,395
    Quote Originally Posted by shovenose View Post
    Yup I get those all the time.
    Just threw them away, but I might call them and give them a hard time. Got a phone number?
    I've received several mailings from these people and did a little checking today. Instead of starting another thread I did a simple search here and found one fairly current.

    Eric Voisard
    Customer Relations Manager
    1-866-434-0212 ex 248
    evoisard@droa.com

    They were apparently also cited by the FTC in 2003 and changed the wording on their mailings but they still look like invoices.

    There is also an attorney in NY who is willing to pursue the matter. his name is,

    Brendan James Gilbert, Esq.
    The Gilbert Law Office
    http://thegilbertlawoffice.com

    If you have clients being duped by these people then they should get together and stop these people.

    There's a number of sites that have info about this company. gotta love the name of this one though

    http://www.the-name-i-wanted-was-alr...-america-scam/
    www.websitemagick.com "Add a little Magick to your Website"
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  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    42
    Registrar will always intimate you on the time of domain expiration, they will continuously intimate you on the domain renewals in order the domain owner should not to loss the domain.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Nirvana
    Posts
    1,395
    Quote Originally Posted by Namesbeyond View Post
    Registrar will always intimate you on the time of domain expiration, they will continuously intimate you on the domain renewals in order the domain owner should not to loss the domain.
    These people are sending out invoices to people who are "not" their customers.

    Theft by deception is against the law.
    www.websitemagick.com "Add a little Magick to your Website"
    IwebNews.net

  20. #20
    This is fraud by misrepresentation (UK law). The FTC in the U.S. took legal action, and they were banned from doing it over there. Elsewhere, they seem to have a free reign.

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Nirvana
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    1,395
    Quote Originally Posted by pixelrat View Post
    This is fraud by misrepresentation (UK law). The FTC in the U.S. took legal action, and they were banned from doing it over there. Elsewhere, they seem to have a free reign.
    They are still sending these notices that look like invoices here in the US.
    www.websitemagick.com "Add a little Magick to your Website"
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  22. #22
    Looks like the FTC has taken their eye off the ball. After the ruling they were supposed to be monitoring their future conduct. Seems like the FTC is about as effective as the SEC.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    4,667
    Quote Originally Posted by pixelrat View Post
    Looks like the FTC has taken their eye off the ball. After the ruling they were supposed to be monitoring their future conduct. Seems like the FTC is about as effective as the SEC.
    It still fools people, but I believe they have changed the wording sufficiently so that it is presented as a solicitation not an invoice - so it no longer meets the legal definition of fraud.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Tech Belt
    Posts
    8,160
    Yeah goes in the shredder for me. Would be nice if they stopped.
    Nothing here right now.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    London, UK.
    Posts
    196
    I've had plenty of these, this is the best way to handle them.

    1) Comes through mailbox.
    2) You see their logo.
    3) You can write on it: Wrong Address or return to sender. (Not required)
    4) Send it back unopened.
    5) They will endure an extra postage fee.

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