Julianna
Over at CircleID last week, Brett Lewis of Lewis & Hand, LLP defined Domain Name Hijacking while educating domain name owners about how it can be avoided.
Domain Name Hijacking is the terminology commonly used to describe the wrongful taking of a domain name from its rightful owner, by deception or fraud. A couple of the most common methods of domain hijacking are impersonating the registrant in communications with a registrar or registering a lapsed registrant email address (Hotmail and Yahoo addresses are often targeted) to reset a password and authorize a transfer of registrar or registrant.
Lewis lists a number of prevention techniques to ensure that that your domain names don’t get jacked. But first and foremost, he suggests registering your domains with a reputable Registrar.
There are literally hundreds of registrars to choose from and thousands upon thousands of resellers. Complaints about lack of service and responsiveness at shady service providers abound. If your domain name is hijacked from one of these providers, you may have a difficult time getting anyone to listen. Domain name resellers are not under contract with ICANN and are not directly obligated to follow the same transfer confirmation processes that ICANN requires of registrars. Many do, but there is a greater risk that a reseller will not follow best practices, making it more likely that your domain name can be hijacked. Also look for a registrar that sends a transfer confirmation email prior to transferring a domain name.
You’ll be happy to know that Webnames.ca is ICANN accredited and not a reseller and we send transfer confirmation emails prior to tansferring domain names.