Shelby,

I have not heard of Verisign doing this.  I have used Network Solutions for
years (which is now Verisign), and frankly, would be very surprised to find
that they were engaging in this practice.

I also would discourage forwarding such emails to this list.  Emails such as
the one you quote are normally untrue and simply "made up".  Forwarding such
emails to a list such as those at hwg.org and is strictly regulated by the
Guild, in most cases prohibited.  Public service announcements are
prohibited from being posted to the list.

Anyway, I'm not trying to ruffle any feathers.  It's just that their site
(www.123cheapdomains.com) shows NO alert of any type regarding what you
posted, therefore lending even more credence to my suspicion that this is in
fact a hoax.

Thanks,
Keith D Sellars
WebGraffix
www.webgraffix.com

"Making database sites seem easy"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Cook, Shelby" <scook(at)equibase.com>
To: <hwg-basics(at)hwg.org>
Sent: Friday, April 19, 2002 8:32 AM
Subject: domain name renewal


>
> I got what looked like a bill the other day from Verisign which confused
me
> because my hosting company originally got me my name for free and it's
only
> been 7 months.  I thought perhaps that they were doing something screwy
but
> then a friend forwarded this email to me about Verisign.  Anyone else know
> anything more?
> SC
>
>
> --- "123cheapdomains.com" <help(at)123cheapdomains.com> wrote:
> > Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 23:50:59 -0400
> <snip>
> > From: "123cheapdomains.com" <help(at)123cheapdomains.com>
> > Reply-to: "123cheapdomains.com" <help(at)123cheapdomains.com>
> > Subject: Important Announcement to 123cheapdomains.com customers
> >
> > This important notice has been sent to all 123cheapdomains.com
> > customers.
> > Please read it.
> >
> > Read more below and see how this notice may possibly help
> > protect you against falling for a very recent domain related scam.
> >
> >
> >    Network Solutions/Verisign has recently been involved in
> > a predatory business practice where Verisign sends
> > out misleading $29 renewal notices to customers who registered
> > their domains elsewhere with competing domain registration companies.
> > These notices were designed to look like actual billing statements.
> >
> >
> >    A few customers of http://123cheapdomains.com who have
> > never registered their domain name with Verisign received
> > paper renewal notices via US postal mail.
> > These $29 renewal notices were designed by Verisign to
> > look so authentic that the letter were able to mislead some customers
> > into thinking that the renewal notice is from their
> > current domain registration company.
> > Verisign forged the letters to look like a real billing statement.
> > After customers unknowingly pay for the renewal, Verisign transfers
> > the domain away from their current registration company
> > without their knowledge.
> >
> >
> > Note: These notices are designed to look like real billing
> > statements,
> > except that hidden on the very back of the letter,
> > there will be in very small print that admits that they
> > are not currently your domain registration company.
> >
> >
> > Verisign's fine print on the back page reads:
> >
> >
> > "By signing the reverse side of this form, you hereby authorize us to
> > transfer the registration of your domain name(s)
> > away from your CURRENT REGISTRAR to Verisign."
> >
> >
> > If you have been deceived into transfering away your domain
> > to Verisign and are angry about having to pay more for your renewals
> > than you really needed to, you may have even contacted Verisign.
> > But Verisign will tell you that they have not misrepresented anything
> > and will tell you that you should have read fine print.
> > Don't let them tell you this. They know this is wrong and so
> > do you.
> >
> >
> > This is definitely not fair for consumers to have to receive a
> > "transfer away" agreement disguised as a billing notice,
> > and what is even more compelling is that the
> > consumer's domain name is not even with Verisign.
> >
> >
> > As a analogy, lets pretend that you have an insurance policy from
> > company AAAAAA. You like company AAAAAA because they are reliable and
> > helpful.
> > But then company ZZZZZZ sends you what looks
> > like a renewal bill for an insurance policy. You sign off the
> > bottom with your signature assuming that the renewal policy is from
> > AAAAAA and but actually end up sending payment to ZZZZZZZ.
> > Now your insurance policy has been switched to using ZZZZZZZ.
> > Company ZZZZZZ will then try to convince you that it is legal because
> > of their hidden fine print right after you complain.
> > You know this is not legal but am trying to figure out what you
> > can do about this.
> >
> > This tatic is almost similar to telephone slamming.
> >
> >
> > Since the FTC will definitely have a problem against companies
> > misleading consumers with renewal billing statements,
> > the FTC might do something about this and investigate if they
> > can get enough complaints.
> >
> >
> > If you, or someone you know has been fooled by this
> > billing misrepresentation, or have received this notice,
> > you can do your part to stop this from happening to someone else.
> >
> >
> > Complaints to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can be made at:
> >
> > https://rn.ftc.gov/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
> >
> >
> > Note: You can tell if your domain is with Verisign or not,
> > simply by reading the back of their billing renewal notice.
> > If it mentions a "transfer" anywhere on the notice, then you
> > know that your domain is not with Versign,
> > and the domain should not be renewed with them.
> > It doesn't do you any good to renew with Verisign as
> > as you will be paying $29/yr for domain renewals
> > instead of our $13.95/yr price at 123cheapdomains.com.
> >
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> > Note: 123cheapdomains.com will never send out paper renewal
> > notices via Postal mail, so please don't be fooled by anything you
> > get in the mail.
> >
> > We send out renewal notices via your email address listed on file,
> > and the renewals are done from the http://123cheapdomains.com web
> > site only.
> >
> > If you need to renew a domain name that is registered at
> > 123cheapdomains.com,
> > you can easily do it directly from the from 123cheapdomains.com
> > website at:
> >
> >
> https://www.123cheapdomains.com/domain-registration/manage-domains.html
> >
> > Just login and renew any domains you need.
> > The renewal rate will never go up for you. It is just $13.95/yr as
> > always.
> >
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Question: Where does 123cheapdomains.com send their renewal
> >
> > We only send email renew notices to the "administrative email
> > contact"
> > listed in your domains ownership record.
> > This means that you need to keep your email current at:
> >
> >
> https://www.123cheapdomains.com/domain-registration/manage-domains.html
> >
> >
> > To see which email is listed in your administrative contact email,
> > do a whois search for your domain at:
> >
> >
> > http://123cheapdomains.com/check-status/whois.html
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Thank you for your continued support.
> >
> > We are working harder than ever these few months to make
> > improvements.
> >
> >
> >  Jonathan Lee
> >  Tech Manager
> >  website: http://123cheapdomains.com
> >  phone:   1-415-682-3859
> >  email:   help(at)123cheapdomains.com
> >
> >
> >
> > http://taxes.yahoo.com/
>

HTML: hwg-basics mailing list archives, maintained by Webmasters @ IWA