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  1. #1

    WHOIS info >> mail, email, phone calls...ignorable or important?

    Hi all ...I am starting some web sites and have been reading a lot here regarding the dilema of having one's contact info available to spammers...

    I have learned here at WHT that the public WHOIS info problem is usually addressed in one of two ways: either by using "privacy" services offered by registrars, or by using a PO Box, cell phone, and an expendable (but legit) email addy for domain name registration contact info.

    In my case the option of using my registrar's privacy service is not appealing because my domains are at GoDaddy and they charge about ten bucks per year per domain name. (seems it should/could be a one time fee..but that's not the point of this thread)

    Here is my question for those of you are going (or have previously gone) the "PO Box/ cell phone/expendable email addy" route in dealing with this issue...

    What kind of spam, snail mail, phone calls, etcetra, does one receive?

    Is it all junk which can be ignored ? Or is it necessary to carefully sift through tons of it looking for that one communication that may be vital to your business...???

    Examples may be correspondence from your registrar, web host, or evan ICANN ..who knows...lol I don't obviously that's why I ask you all

    I am just getting started doing biz on the web...what fun surprises are waiting for me?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Posts
    12,207
    House OKs penalties for false Web records

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill that would increase jail time for identity thieves and other fraudulent Web users who register sites under false identities.

    The bill, which passed by voice vote, would not directly outlaw the use of fraudulent registration information.

    Rather, it would increase by up to seven years the prison terms of those convicted of felonies.

    It must be approved by the Senate before it becomes law.

    Online investigators frequently find that suspects have filled out Web-site registration records with clearly fraudulent information -- providing "555-555-5555" as a phone number or "Small Wok Way, Chopstick Town, WI" as a street address.

    As many as 10 percent of the Internet's 30 million domain names may be registered under false identities, according to a study released last year.

    "The government must play a greater role in detecting those who conceal their identities online," said Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith, a sponsor of the bill.

    The bill also establishes fines and jail time for those who use legitimate-looking labels to trick consumers into buying illegally copied music, software and other copyrighted materials.

  3. #3

    um...

    hey RADiSTAR thanks for replying to my thread...and also allowing me to make my magical 5th post here at WHT...lol


    But i am confused as to how your post relates to the questions i asked...

    I did not and would not use any false info to register domains.

    When i referred to PO Box, cell phone, and "expendable email addy" i meant a PO Box and cell phone in my name or my business' name.

    And an "expendable email addy", in this context is any email not used for any purpose OTHER than registering domain names. It would still be a legitimate email address. But it may be an email addy that could be easily changed when the spam got too bad, in which case I would of course inform my registrar and update my contact info.

    I just want to know what kind of solicitations to expect if I set up my business this way.

    My only other options are to use "privacy" on all my domains which is expensive at GoDaddy...or to move to a different registrar which would be a hassle.

  4. #4

    allow me to re-phrase...

    Perhaps the title of this thread: "WHOIS info >> mail, email, phone calls...ignorable or important? " does not convey the intended meaning...

    which is ....

    Public WHOIS contact info leads to solicitations via snail mail, email, and phone calls. Are these types of solicitations 100% ignorable or must one expend time and effort sifting through them just in case something important may be there???



    anybody have thoughts on this?

  5. #5

    Re: allow me to re-phrase...

    Originally posted by rog2
    Perhaps the title of this thread: "WHOIS info >> mail, email, phone calls...ignorable or important? " does not convey the intended meaning...
    Yeah, the subject's question of whether or not WHOIS info is 'ignorable' is probably what inspired the last post.

    Public WHOIS contact info leads to solicitations via snail mail, email, and phone calls. Are these types of solicitations 100% ignorable or must one expend time and effort sifting through them just in case something important may be there???
    I use a PO box and a cell phone #. I rarely answer my cell phone, but for a while I was getting daily calls from some "agency" regarding one of my websites. The Caller ID was always blocked and they wouldn't leave a message. But I did talk to them a couple times and it was some kind of scam

    As far as snail mail, I've also received mail at my PO box. I have somebody else check it for me (because it's not in the same city that I'm currently in) and I don't think I've ever gotten anything that couldn't be trashed.

    The email addresses in my whois info are checked multiple times daily (along with all my other email addresses) I've just recently changed all the contact email addresses in my whois' and set the old addresses to :fail: because of all the spam I'd get.

    HTH

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    The OC
    Posts
    2,094
    Hmmm...

    Well, I only have just over 200 domains now. But I am really surprised how few solicitations I get. I use my regular office telephone number which either I, or one of my 2 employees answers. And yes we get the occasion "Congratulations on registering your website, can we host it/design it/optimize it/etc" call. But it's maybe 5 calls a month or so. I get a lot more than that by being in the white and yellow pages locally.

    Junk postal mail to my P.O. Box is maybe 10 pieces per month attributed to whois sources.

    Emails... well I change whois email addresses every few months, but I still get only about 1 spam email per day that creeps through SpamAssassin. I can live with that.

    The point that I would like to make is that I often use the Whois to checkout who I'm doing business with. So if your contact information is obviously bogus like the examples RADiSTAR was using, then I won't do business with you. I figure that if I can have MY real telephon number in the whois, then surely, so can you.

    BTW... I would never use my cell phone number in the whois. I've heard this recommended several times and I think it's crazy. When I get a few more domains and these calls get to be a problem, then I'll get a voice mail box somewhere to take them. Many of these services will email you any messages left in .wav files, or at the least alert you to the fact that a voice message was left.

    Remember... that last voice message left could be an annoying salesman OR your biggest customer who lost your number and (for whatever reason) is looking it up in the Whois.

    If you put yourself out there to DO business... then you have to take the bad with the good.
    You may delay, but time will not. --- Benjamin Franklin

  7. #7

    ty

    thanks frankieG and 4solutions for sharing your experience with a soon-to-be-noob-webmaster

  8. #8
    Originally posted by 4solutions
    Remember... that last voice message left could be an annoying salesman OR your biggest customer who lost your number and (for whatever reason) is looking it up in the Whois.

    If you put yourself out there to DO business... then you have to take the bad with the good.
    This is a very good point. It's not relevant to my personal situation because none of my domains are businesses, but if I *was* running an online biz, I'd probably NOT use a PO box because it looks sketchy.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    The OC
    Posts
    2,094
    Originally posted by FrankieG
    ...if I *was* running an online biz, I'd probably NOT use a PO box because it looks sketchy.
    LOL... True, but the funny part is that I didn't get the P.O. Box for my privacy. I use it because my mail service at my office building is an absolute joke. We all have to get together at lunch time to exchange all the mail which is apparently randomly delivered to one another's office.

    I deal with some client's tax and financial affairs and I certainly cannot have their mail floating about unsupervised. No one has ever expressed any concern about the P.O. Box per se... but you're right. For many folks, it probably does look "sketchy."
    You may delay, but time will not. --- Benjamin Franklin

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    51
    I think it is unfair to have people hosting personal sites put up their information; especially if they have a politicaly modivated site...

    With that said I find it insane to jail people who put fake WHOIS info; but the way the US is going you are going to get jailed for anything now'a'days.

    I use the k7 free voicemail service for a number; I don't want idiots calling my cellphone - it's my only line.

  11. #11
    I had one domain which had many thousand pages listed in Google. I received several spam messages related to this domain, but no more than two-three per month. I had no spam from other domains from WHOIS info. Putting you email address accessible on your site will get you much more spam than your WHOIS.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
    Location
    .INdiana
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    I have a free fax number from efax.com, and list that number in both the telephone and fax number spots.

  13. #13
    Geist - I was not aware that free voicemal services existed. Where can I find out more about the k7 service?

    Michau - Interesting ...that such a large and "well-googled" domain could receive so little SPAM. Maybe I am worrying too much about nothing, lol. It is also interesting that a domain HAS several thousand pages...you aren't Yahoo are you? HP? (easy to get lost in there)

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Kuwait
    Posts
    10,620
    nothing is 100% ignorable, you need a valid contact for people to contact you incase they want to purcahse your domain, or need help from you.

    you can always use spam protection which will lower spam by huge percentage or use some email verification system like ASK(Active Spam Killer) etc..
    Bashar Al-Abdulhadi - KuwaitNET Internet Services Serving customers since 1997
    Kuwait's First Webhosting and Domain Registration provider - an ICANN Accredited Registrar

    Twitter: Bashar Al-Abdulhadi

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
    Posts
    21
    Unless it is for a sales purpose, alot of Registrars will proably use other methouds to directly get ahold of you if it is very important.

    Most stuff coming through the mail will just be junk anywayes. If it is a pressing issue, such as a domain expiration, they will proably try and reach you quicker by sending an email (or several a day for the next three months till it expires.)

    The snail mail notices that are sent out are mostly by companies with marketing campaigns to get you to sign up for services.

    Im greatful we can recycle now a days, alot of that stuff would otherwise be a major waste. At least it can go towards making books or paper bags for groceries.

    You can't help but feel alittle special when you get your first junk mail letting you know that your domain name is going to expire unless you act now. A slight smile can also come to your face knowing there multi million dollar campaigns end up encouraging the practice of recycleing in the end.

  16. #16

    Or chasing up a proper billing contact.

    I remember trying to renew an account with xDrive. At the time, they didn't answer their billing emails etc.

    It was important as there were files I had to retrieve, that a friend uploaded for me. I used the whois to track down a telephone number for someone at xdrive, so I could renew.

    Totally bogus whois would cause alot of people not to do buinsess with you.

    ~hostguy2004

  17. #17
    I tink whois is most useful for shy people, the whois spam is not much, I dont recieve many either..

    also.. you may find a godaddy reseller with cheaper than godaddys price for private regs...

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