Response to Domain Theft

[Alan Glennon]

None of my domains have been stolen, but I am interested in more experienced domainers take on how to respond to a clear cut domain theft/hijacking.

What are the steps to take and what authorities (local police, state police?) should be contacted? For that matter, what is the best way to document domain registration now to facilitate future recovery?

I probably would do the following:
1) assess and confirm that the domain is stolen
2) confirm secure email communication and change passwords
3) contact domain's original registrar
4) if transferred out, contact receiving registrar
5) file police report
6) contact my private domainer attorney
7) inform the domainer community

 

[victornumber]

in what order would you recommend? I think informing the domain community should be one of the top ones as the name might have have sold in the time you are doing all the contacting.

 

[Gerry]

Absolutely file a police report with your local authorities.

Depending on what country you are in, look up to see if there is a national cyber taskforce for reporting internet fraud and theft. There is such a body here in the states and England. My guess is that most countries have something like this.

It is best to contact the thief's country authorities as well.

Most (if not all) of the bigger registrars of their own legal team as well that can assist.

The idea of alerting the domain community is a good idea - but should be the last step.

The reason I say this is because the domain community is relatively small and it seems like everything that goes on is known by every body. Most importantly, it may not be best to alert the perp that you are on to them. We are seeing some fast action of switching domain registrars as reported by other threads. I prefer not letting the thief now what I am doing or what actions I am taking.

Okay, so I write and say a lot. But I have found that prepping is the crucial step. TAKE THE TIME TO PREPARE YOUR CASE in a very factual, to the point manner that is backed by factual evidence and not based on opinions. Your goal here is to be extremely organized and make your case stand on its own. Having all the facts and pertinent information is critical to get someone else's attention. If you make their job easier by eliminating all the guess work and back and forth calls/emails, then they will be able to devote that time to being more productive in assisting you.

If you have the address (location) of the thieve, call that local law enforcement authorities. As an example, I had an issue with someone in Kentucky. When I called that sheriffs office, they actually knew who the person was that I was reporting! The perp had a history of defrauding people on the internet.

Honestly, the most important thing has to be getting all the information gathered and made into a very nice concise package with all the facts, preferably in chronological order.

Yes, I am saying all of this from experience.