It is not uncommon to receive email spam asking you to renew, purchase or sell domain names with any number of extensions (.com.au, .com, .net, .any other country you can think of!) but often people are not as cautious of mail based schemes.
Companies such as Domain Name Group, a Melbourne VIC based company, openly post out specific invoices with a variation of the domain names you already own complete with your contact details.
It is easy to see how well this tactic works on the unsuspecting as most people have no idea when their domain names are due for renewal or even which domain names they own, let alone which provider they are with.
The only clue that this is not an invoice for a product you do already own/want/need is the fine print saying “This is an invitation to register.” Certainly easy to miss.
The icing on the cake is that the price on the ‘invitation’ invoice is a whopping $245.00 for an Australian domain name. Pricing is usually set at around $49.95 (for 2 years). An extra $195 for absolutely nothing.
Please be cautious whenever you receive a domain name or hosting renewal invoice. If you are unsure you should contact your website developer or refer to the last invoice you paid for these services. If it is not a match there is a good chance it is another company trying to capture new clientele.
Similar email scams that easily confuse are from international companies asking if you want their country extension domain names as they have an interested party wanting to purchase. While you can buy up every domain name known to man it is usually highly unneccessary unless you are going global. Even then it is unlikely you would require every extension.
A price guide for an Australian domain name you should pay no more than $49.95 and for a .com $39.95 for 2 years (24 months).
