22nd November 2015
I received this message this morning. (I removed the full domain name)
Domain Notification: MARK WINGROVE This is your Final Notice of Domain Listing – xxxxx.ORG
Requested Reply Before: November 23,2015
PART I: REVIEW SOLICITATION
Attn: MARK WINGROVE
As a courtesy to domain name holders, we are sending you this notification for your business Domain name search engine registration. This letter is to inform you that it’s time to send in your registration and save.
Failure to complete your Domain name search engine registration by the expiration date may result in cancellation of this offer making it difficult for your customers to locate you on the web.
Privatization allows the consumer a choice when registering. Search engine subscription includes domain name search engine submission. You are under no obligation to pay the amounts stated below unless you accept this offer. Do not discard, this notice is not an invoice it is a courtesy reminder to register your domain name search engine listing so your customers can locate you on the web.
This Notice for: WWW.xxxxx.ORG will expire on November 23,2015 Act today!
Select Term:
[ ] 1 year 11/23/2015 – 11/23/2016 $75.00
[ ] 2 year 11/23/2015 – 11/23/2017 $119.00
[ ] 5 year 11/23/2015 – 11/23/2020 $199.00
[ ] 10 year -Most Recommended- 11/23/2015 – 11/23/2025 $295.00
[ ] Lifetime (NEW!) Limited time offer – Best value! Lifetime $499.00
Today’s Date: _____________________ Signature: _____________________
Payment by Credit Card
Select the term above, then return by fax: 1-716-328-1722
xxxxx.ORG
By accepting this offer, you agree not to hold DS liable for any part. Note that THIS IS NOT A BILL. This is a solicitation. You are under no obligation to pay the amounts stated unless you accept this offer. The information in this letter contains confidential and/or legally privileged information from the notification processing department of the DS 3501 Jack Northrop Ave.
Suite #F9238 Hawthorne, CA 90250 USA, This information is intended only for the use of the individual(s) named above. There is no pre-existing relationship between DS and the domain mentioned above. This notice is not in any part associated with a continuation of services for domain registration. Search engine submission is an optional service that you can use as a part of your website optimization and alone may not increase the traffic to your site. If you do not wish to receive further updates from DS reply with Remove to unsubscribe. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents for this letter is strictly prohibited.
What does it mean?
Anything that comes into your inbox carrying the message Final Notice is going to capture your attention. In this case because it is associated with a domain name I manage, I at first assumed it was going to expire and needed to be paid for.
Closer inspection reveals that this message is about the domain name being registered with search engines or maybe being added to a business directory, something like yellow pages. With regards to being registered to search engines, it is already built into your sites.
For many of you my name is on the registration of your domain name if I have taken it out on your behalf. Some of you have it registered in someone else’s name so they will receive a similar message. What this organisation has done is gone through the public records and sent out a lot of messages. I had two this morning.
Don’t do it!
If we assume that that it is a rather pushy offer presented in a somewhat aggressive manner, ( I am being generous), then signing up to this and paying for it is unlikely to make any difference at all to the number of hits you get on your website. It is more likely to be wholly fictitious, and the people located at the fax machine at 1-716-328-1722 in the hired office that is actually located in the Western region of New York State, and not California as indicated in the message; will not be there in 2 days time. However I am sure that there are some people out there that will be sucked in by it.
If you receive any demands for payment related to your site and you think you are hosting with me, forward the demand to me. I will confirm if it is real or not.
In all cases your domain names are automatically renewed, and also your sites are regularly visited by Google and Bing.
On the lighter side
Obviously the scammers found the domain name, and then looked it up, so you do not need an entry in a business directory or registration with a search engine! Google et al is working just fine.