The first thing you need when creating a new website is a domain name, like techsavvyonline.com, for example. Names are pretty simple to register - assuming the name you want is currently available - and are relatively inexpensive - usually costing between $10 and $35 per year.

The other day I received this email from a good friend of mine, asking, "Should I be worried about this?" At first I thought it was a typical attempt by one domain registrar to steal the customers of another by transferring domain name registrations, a practice known as "slamming." What I thought was odd, however, was the inclusion in the email message of legal text claiming to be excerpted from the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (hmmm, there is no Title 15, Sect. 1152) which is designed in part to protect against such practices.

Just for fun, I called the folks at Domain Notification Central, and pretended to be my friend, quite worried that my domain name was now freely available. I was assured by the nice man who answered the phone that all would be OK, as long as I renewed my name registration within the next six days. Oh, and I was given the choice of either a five or ten year registration, at rather steep prices. Oddly enough, I had already checked my friends registration, and knew full well that it wasn't due to expire for another two years!

But that's when things turned really strange. I re-read the email notice, and this time I saw that the domain name in question wasn't my friend's ".com" name, it was in fact a ".us" name! In other words, the alarmist notification about the expired registration was for a domain my friend didn't even own!

The fine, upstanding folks at Domain Notification Central were attempting to sell an additional name, at an inflated price, by frightening my friend into thinking his "real" website address had expired.

So that raises the question, "What do we do about such scams?" The first thing to do is to READ CAREFULLY, including the fine print. Don't feel pressured by alarmist statements, like "If you fail to reply to DUC this domain may be registered by any third party without further notice." If you've read through the notice several times, and still don't get it, ask a friend who may be a bit more savvy in the ways of the web.

And finally, you can fight back by filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. If enough of us stand up to these digital bullies, we just may be able to start cleaning up the swamp the internet has become.

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