Scam warning to all website domain owners
Look out for mail correspondence asking you to renew your domain – you might be the target of a scam.
We’ve recently become aware that domain owners, including PhotoMerchant customers who have gotten their domain names through us, have been receiving very deceptive mails regarding their domain name. If you have bought your website domain (or received one for free with your plan) through PhotoMerchant you don’t have anything to worry about – your domain is safely secure with us. If you receive any mail that looks something like the picture below, just ignore it and put it straight in the bin. Read on to find out how the scam works.
This official looking letter appears as a legitimate renewal reminder notification stating that your website domain is about to expire. The letter then describes how you need to pay the renewal fees. If you follow the instructions and pay for the renewal your website domain will be transferred away from your existing domain registrar (eg. GoDaddy, Planet domain or even PhotoMerchant) into their business name – making it very hard (and expensive) for you to get it back or make changes.
It’s a downright sneaky way of trying to get your business and usually at a higher annual fee per domain for the transfer. If you receive a letter like this, there’s no need to worry, please disregard and throw it away (or better yet, shred it and recycle it)! If you have purchased your domain through us, we handle all renewals so you don’t have to do a thing – ever. If you registered your domain on the $19 Plus plan, then we will handle the renewal for you and your credit card will be automatically charged the $19 renewal fee. If you registered your domain on the $49 Premium plan, then we will handle the renewal for you and also cover the renewal fee.
If you purchased your domain elsewhere and receive any communication regarding your domain name, please read carefully and contact your domain registrar if you are unsure about the content.
This trickery has been done for several years by several companies including Domain Renewal Group and Domain Registry of America or Australia but it is the same trick.
