Domain name scams

A recurring internet scam involving domain names has resurfaced targeted at small businesses. The scams involve notices being sent to small businesses indicating an urgent need to renew or register domain names associated with that business.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last month reissued a warning to small businesses, advising them to beware of domain name scams.

These scams take several forms, including:

1. A notice sent to the target business, creating a sense of urgency and asserting that a domain name is due for renewal. While the domain name that is the subject of the notice is similar to the registered domain name of the business, the notice is actually in respect of a domain name with slight differences to the name or to the extension which can go undetected by the reader. For example ".com." rather than ".com.au".