Domain Theft

[Commerce]

Hard to believe after nearly 25 years, but I got hit by criminals who have stolen a number of my domains. Any insights beyond working with the registrar of record to resolve this quickly?

-Commerce

 

[aleksey.k]

Hard to believe after nearly 25 years, but I got hit by criminals who have stolen a number of my domains. Any insights beyond working with the registrar of record to resolve this quickly?

-Commerce

Try DNProtect.com and Bill Hartzer (his the owner of the project)

 

[Commerce]

Will look at that, currently exploring the options with the registrar involved. I know the name Bill Hartzer, so will try to get in contact if unable to get a successful resolution from the registrar in the next week. Thank you!

 

[jaydub]

Sorry to hear this Commerce...
they are not around much these days but you could try and touch base with
@Theo ..(Domaingang)
@TheLegendayJP

They might be able to help.

Hope you get things sorted

 

[Commerce]

Sorry to hear this Commerce...
they are not around much these days but you could try and touch base with
@Theo ..(Domaingang)
@TheLegendayJP

They might be able to help.

Hope you get things sorted

Good people both. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Biggie]

Hi

sorry this has happened.
perhaps check this old thread, to get some ideas

L5.COM

Good Luck!

imo...

 

[Theo]

Is this the gathering of the elders? Good to see everyone here.

Domain theft is rampant. Here are the current methods I'm aware of:

1. Social engineering: Calling up or chatting with registrar support to alter emails on the account, change DNS or add such info, claiming duress ("help me, I am going crazy with my boss" etc.)
2. Registering a dropped domain that is still linked in the registrant/admin contacts of the target domain. Then setting up the relevant email and initiating changes to the account, transfer attempts etc. It can then lead to #1
3. Finding domains operated with emails that are from old ISPs such as AOL, Earthlink, Roadrunner etc. and resetting them via #1 or finding their password in leaked databases
4. Rare but possible: SIM swapping, calling up the mobile provider and using #1 taking over the phone number of the target account.
5. Phishing or malware: fake Gmail or GoDaddy portals, or emails with fake alerts to log into your account because of a supposed emergency - the victim is shocked/panicked and enters their details into the scammer's form.

 

[jaydub]

Is this the gathering of the elders? Good to see everyone here.

Great to see you Theo...and wow...domaingang keeps rocking it!

 

[Commerce]

Well, figured an update was about due. Just before the end of February, connected with the security team and learned that the domains were immediately security locked on report. They have now been transferred back into my account, which also has additional security in place that should generally discourage any future attempts to steal domains from this registrar.

Thank you to all who offered encouragement, advice and support. The biggest takeaways from all this are that you need to document everything, remain engaged in the process, keep asking about updates on the ticket(s) and don't lose hope. If you are new to domaining and do not have a history with a registrar, you may well need to seek assistance from attorneys and resources who have expertise in recovery. Never be ashamed to share as a victim of online domain theft, as the community benefits from the experience.

 

[jaydub]

Great news Commerce...thanks for the update.