Recently we have become aware of some convincing scam mail regarding domain renewal and ‘Search Engine Registration’ renewals, for example take a look at the form below (click to view fullsize):
These are scams which are designed to look convincing. The email will contain alot of detail about you, including name, address, contact email address, phone number and will probably arrive close to your domains renewal date. Clicking on the ‘Secure Online Payment’ link will take you to a credit card processing page which will happily charge you a fee. You will also have given them your credit card details!!
So where did they get your information?
ICANN domain names (.com,.net,.org etc) all carry the registers contact information known as ‘whois’. WHOIS isn’t an acronym, though it may look like one. In fact, it is the system that asks the question, who is responsible for a domain name or an IP address? This information is the personal details provided when registering one of these domains. You can check the whois information on many sites e.g. whois.net
By default when registering one of these domains with Myhost.ie we enable a feature known as ‘ID Protect‘. This feature hides your information from the public so it can no longer be looked up. There is an added cost for this service but it does prevent your contact information being made public and reduces your exposure to phishing scams
