If you casually acquire domain names off lists, auctions or even domain investors beware: some of these domains might be stolen property.<\/p>\n
Last week, a domain auction that was advertised on blogs, social media, and even Domaining.com, was terminated.<\/p>\n
The domain was stolen from its rightful owner by a person other than the seller; after parading it on forums, he sold it at a fraction of its value. The current owner is stuck with a domain that belongs to someone else, all while the thief kept the money, repeating the feat once again.<\/p>\n
Another domain stolen by the same thief has been sold three times since May, effectively converting it into “laundered” and squeaky clean property.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, acquiring domains off any venue or person requires deep research, to ensure that nothing funky is occurring.<\/p>\n
Just because someone told you that the domain was acquired on NameJet, for example, doesn’t mean it’s true. You’d have to contact NameJet to confirm that.<\/p>\n
In the case of domain thefts involving the infiltration of email accounts controlling the domains, things can become more complicated.<\/p>\n
One can pose as the domain owner, confirming the ongoing sale, or assuring the inquiring party that a resale indeed occurred. One cannot be certain without extensive research, that might involve engaging with the owner over the phone. Sometimes, such conversations can become rather awkward.<\/p>\n
Domain names constitute property that can be worth thousands or millions of dollars. Unlike cars and land, the lack of any certificate of ownership makes the task of tracking a domain’s history very difficult.<\/p>\n
Even with the existence of tools such as the historic WHOIS by DomainTools, or the newly released Iris, there is no digital stamp proving that a domain is owned by whoever is selling it.<\/p>\n
When acquiring domain names, due diligence is a must – and when everything appears to be clean, one should not let their guard down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you casually acquire domain names off lists, auctions or even domain investors beware: some of these domains might be stolen property. Last week, a domain auction that was advertised on blogs, social media, and even Domaining.com, was terminated. The domain was stolen from its rightful owner by a person other than the seller; after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[162,662,453,96],"class_list":["post-4851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-domains","tag-auctions","tag-domain-names","tag-security","tag-stolen-domains","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n