Sooner or later, anyone who owns a domain gets a scary email or letter about it. A lot of the time, it’s a domain name services scam. They work because they look official and they make you feel like you have to act right now.

The good news is that these scams are easy to spot once you’ve seen them. Here are the ones that come up the most.

Fake renewal notices

This one is called domain slamming, and it’s been around for a long time. You get an invoice that says your domain is about to expire and bad things will happen if you don’t pay today.

It looks real, and the company usually has an official-sounding name. If you pay, you may end up moving your domain to a different company without realizing it, and you’ll probably pay a lot more than you should.

The “someone wants your name” email

This one says another company is about to register domains that match your brand. The sender says they’ve stopped it for now, but you need to buy those names yourself to protect your business.

There usually isn’t another company. They just want to sell you a bunch of domains you don’t need at a price you shouldn’t pay.

Website listing invoices

Here you get a bill for listing your domain on some high-traffic directory. It’s written to look like a renewal, but read the small print and you’ll see it’s a marketing service. These listings do nothing for you, so skip them.

How to keep yourself safe

Most of this comes down to knowing your own domains. Do that and a fake notice stands out right away.

  • Write down when each domain expires and which company it’s registered with.
  • Keep your domains with one registrar if you can. It’s much easier to keep track of them.
  • Renew early, and for a few years at a time if you can. Fewer renewals means fewer chances to get fooled.
  • Only renew through your registrar’s own site. Don’t click the link in the message, log in yourself.
  • Turn on domain lock so nobody can move your domain without your OK.
  • Don’t share your login or personal details with anyone who contacts you out of the blue.

If you run a team, tell them about these too. Scammers often count on an invoice landing on the desk of someone who just pays what shows up.

What to do if a notice looks real

Don’t reply and don’t pay yet. Log in to your registrar account and check the expiration date. If it isn’t close, you’ve got your answer.

Still not sure? Look up your domain with the ICANN Lookup tool. It shows your registrar and expiration date, so you can see whether the company that wrote to you has anything to do with your domain.

If you’re with us and you get something odd, ask our support team before you pay it.

Keep your domain in good shape

Your domain is worth protecting, and a few minutes of checking can save you a lot of trouble. If you’re thinking about moving everything to one place, here’s how to transfer a domain name. And if you’re still shopping, search for your domain here or read our tips on bad domain names first.