If you received a letter from Domain Name Services, Do not pay! It’s a scam.! Throw it in the trash.
This is a scam company (util.com) that sends what at first glance looks like a bill. The letter says your domain is about to expire and you can take advantage of their “best savings” to renew it. This company will try to get you to transfer your domain to them so they can charge over 3 times the usual cost, and probably hold your domain name hostage.
If you have registered your own domain through a company like GoDaddy, they will be the ones to contact you when it’s time to renew.
Unfortunately, domain name registration and renewal scams are very common. I get a couple of emails every month from clients asking what they should do with a letter/bill they’re received.
If you read the letter you’ll notice that it actually says “This is not a bill” but obviously there are enough people who fall for this because they send these notifications out quite regularly.
If you get one of these letters, and you are not sure if it’s a scam:
- Contact your web developer (if they have registered your domain for you).
- Log into the account where your domain is currently registered (if you have registered your own domain name).
- Confirm when your domain is going to expire. And renew it if you need to with your current provider.
- Make sure the credit card on file is still valid (and will be valid on the renewal date). If not, update it.
- It’s a good idea to have your domain on auto renew!
If you sent a company like this money – it’s gone. If you gave them your credit card – you need to cancel that card right away!
Never pay a bill you weren’t expecting without first checking with your website or IT people.
