Start investing in digital
'real estate'!
There are a number of domain name scams around, and you are likely sooner or later, to fall trap to a scammer online. The losses you will suffer could often be severe. This section will take a look at how you can securely buy and sell domain names.
The Scams
One of the most common scams on the Internet is a scammer claiming to be the owner of a domain, usually a premium domain, something like forgot.com. This scammer will claim that he wants to sell the domain, but that is an urgent sale and that he needs the funds urgently. The domain will then be advertised at a ridiculous amount, usually around $300 to $500. This is an amount affordable to most domainers.
Once you show interest the seller will state that the domain will be sold to you
if you immediately pay the funds into his/her Paypal account, or some other
means of payment. You will be told that the domain will be transferred once
payment is made. The scammer will also ask for your personal information for
purposes of the domain transfer.
Once the funds are paid you will never see the domain name.
Another scam is an e-mail you might receive claiming that an organization is
interested in acquiring one of your domain names at a very high price. You will
be requested to transfer the domain upon completing negotiations. Often these
scammers will pay money to you with either stolen credit cards or fraudulent
checks.
Once the domain name is transferred and you discover that the funds have been
reversed from your bank account, the scammers are gone and you will be
responsible for any funds you utilized, and minus your domain name.
Avoiding Scams
Avoiding these scams are often hard to do, but being prepared and knowing what to do, might just save you from falling victim to these scammers.
Selling on Forums
If you are trading on forums, always ensure that you buy from or sell to users
with good ratings. The majority of these forums work on a system called iTrader,
where users can rate one another and leave comments. Make sure that you read a
seller’s comments and that he has a positive iRater rating.
Be very careful of a ‘newbie’ or person with no iTrader rating or comments. You
need to conduct proper research into this individual’s posts made to ensure that
he/she is legitimate.
Conducting Whois Searches
When you are buying a domain from a person, you need to ensure that this person
is the legitimate owner of the domain. Obtain the buyers information prior to
the sale and conduct a Whois enquiry on the domain name involved.
DomainTools.com
Go to www.domaintools.com
from where the enquiry can be done. Simply type in the domain name and you will
find the details of the legitimate owner of the domain. In addition you will
also find the e-mail address and contact telephone numbers of the domain name
owner.
From here you can contact the legitimate owner and establish whether he/she is
indeed the owner of the domain and in the process of selling it.
Using Escrow Services
Escrow services are the safest way in conducting transactions related to domain
names. These services cater for a process in which payment is made and domain
names transferred. These processing usually are conducted as follow:
1. The seller initiate the transaction by providing details on the domain name,
the amount involved and the buyers’ information.
2. The buyer is notified of the transaction and requested to pay the funds into
Escrow. The funds will be held by the Escrow service and not released at this
time.
3. Once the funds are received by the Escrow service and secured, the seller
will be requested to transfer the domain name to the buyer. The details on the
transfer will be provided to the seller by the Escrow service.
4. Once the domain name is transferred the Escrow service will ensure that the
ownership changed hands. If done correctly, the buyer will be awarded a period
of inspection, usually a minimum of 24 hours.
5. Once the buyer is happy with the domain name transfer, the funds will be
released to the seller once the inspection period expired, with permission of
the buyer.
6. If the buyer is not happy with the domain name, the process starts again with
the buyer requested to return the domain name to the seller.
We highly recommend the services of Sedo.com
As mentioned, this is a very secure service, especially when dealing in domain
names with high values.
Again, always be weary of offers that seem too good to be true, often they are!
