Allowing Domain Names to Lapse - A new Scam

[Porky]

Just wanted to alert the community here if not already aware :-

If you are no longer using a domain name for your business, perhaps your shop closed, took your site offline or your online business is no longer trading or you simply pulled out of online sales, it might be worth it for the sake of paying a couple of quid a year you retaining your domain name for a few years longer after use until it no longer shows in google for anything.

A new scam originating out of China involves the scammers picking up dropped domains (ie where they are not renewed) and quickly putting up a false website on the domain with images of goods and a pay link and taking money for false orders. The target customers think they are buying from the genuine business. In some cases they are also trying to steal the identity of the customers that get suckered into this scam. The scammers have been more effective where the business was previously listing well in google on certain keywords.

Anyhow, thought it worth raising some attention to this. Something else to be mindful of.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

If the business doesn't need the domain name, one might think that there isn't a business to protect, so let them scam away!

I am one of those that keeps domains with reputations a bit longer, but this is not dissimilar to registering a similar domain name, scraping the real site and posting that up.

 

[fisicx]

The scammers keep the old address on the website. It makes buyers think they are dealing with a legitimate UK business

 

[UKSBD]

They also have access to emails. It's simple for the new owner to set up a catch all (or just use the original emails if they are obvious) and see if anything interesting comes in.

 

[ukwebhosting]

It is possible to remove your site from Google search in advance of the domain expiring.

Remove Your Site Info from Google | Google Search Central | Documentation | Google for Developers

If you need to remove a page that's hosted on your website from Google Search, you can submit a request using our Removals tool.

developers.google.com