So apparently I bought a domain that was stolen a few months back...

[Kventures]

So I bought this domain name by contacting the whois email directly.
XX.XXX$ name

He pushes the domain to my account right away, without asking questions, and waits 48 hours to receive the wire. He gets the wire and we are both happy.

And then 2 days later I am told that the domain was stolen a few months back, and the "thief" flipped it over to me.

Things to know:

- The domain was pending delete at some point
- I contacted the previous whois email (the one before the guy who sold it to me) and he told me that it was simply a misunderstanding, and the domain was not stolen from his account
- I tried contacting the email before that, and the email is no longer active
- Noone has complained about this domain being stolen.

Now the domain is locked in my netsol account, can't move it to another netsol account or transfer it out.

Netsol is currently investigating the matter.


What happens in a situation like this?
What happens if the domain is proven to be stolen? (but nobody is claiming that it belongs to them?)
and what happens if the domain is not proven to be stolen but people are pretty sure that it was? Do I get to keep the domain and do as I wish with it?

thanks in advance!

Robert

 

[Thomas Nash]

Sounds like youve got yourself into a sticky situation by no fault of your own, I hope it all turns out ok and someone here can help you.

 

[Gerry]

Wow.

Who told you the domain was stolen?

I often times get major sob stories (and outright lies) from people who later realize their name dropped or from the loser in an auction.

Sounds to me that it was someone else who wanted the domain. Very suspicious.

If it smells like feesh, it might be feesh

 

[AlienGG]

Some people just got jealous when they can't get a good domain for the low-ball prices they are only willing to pay.

Tell them to get real.

 

[Kventures]

Admin of a DN forum site made the thread that the domain was stolen

Also, as I tried to transfer it to my Moniker account, Monte from Moniker called me and told me that it looks like its stolen

Finally, I get an email from netsol saying that the reason I cant transfer it out is because of previous ownership dispute or something like that

Wow.

Who told you the domain was stolen?

I often times get major sob stories (and outright lies) from people who later realize their name dropped or from the loser in an auction.

Sounds to me that it was someone else who wanted the domain. Very suspicious.

If it smells like feesh, it might be feesh

 

[AlienGG]

That's getting real nasty. Do you have access to whois history?

 

[Kventures]

Yes I do, PM me if you want access to it to check it out

That's getting real nasty. Do you have access to whois history?

 

[AlienGG]

Well I have whois history too. Can you pm me the name?

 

[WeBuyThe.Com]

Let's take the above scenario one step further.
You come across great-name-to-own.com in an auction.
You bid on that name and win the auction. The name transfers to you.
A few months later someone claims that it was a stolen domain name.

Who is liable?

The auction house collected their 10-15%. The selller already has funds so he's off the hook, so are you, the new owner of the name, out the money?

 

[Focus]

sex.com was stolen from me..I want it back NOW!

 

[Kventures]

Let's take the above scenario one step further.
You come across great-name-to-own.com in an auction.
You bid on that name and win the auction. The name transfers to you.
A few months later someone claims that it was a stolen domain name.

Who is liable?

The auction house collected their 10-15%. The selller already has funds so he's off the hook, so are you, the new owner of the name, out the money?

Very Very good point!

 

[Gerry]

Very Very good point!

Contact bank and stop payment on the wire transfer. If we are talking a few days here, then it can still be done.

The receiving bank will honor the request, bank to bank, and the receiving bank will then bill the recipient's account.

If he has already spent the money, too bad for him. His bank will want their money back and it will be their issue to deal with.

Unless we are talking international transfer.

What a damn mess!

 

[Fearless]

I paid $150K for a name. A year and a half later the sellers sued me for cybersquatting among other things and claimed the name was stolen.

 

[Raider]

The domain is being frozen in your netsol account until they sort it out, this could also be scam.

I had a reverse situation happen to me, I was transferring a domain I bought from Snapnames OUT of my NS account, they froze it! it appeared that someone was trying to hijack it after I removed the lock, now get this! I contacted NS and they stated they were investigating and to wait, I did and a week later l get a notice that ownership was changed to the hijacker! I was outraged, that's when I picked up the phone and called NS, they told me to FAX some documentation and I did, less than 24hrs later it was returned to me.....it was a rollercoaster ride.

My advice to you is, CALL NS, don't wait and don't do the email support thing!

 

[AlienGG]

Netsol is a shady company that's why they are with Verisign now. You can fax them a whatever valid ID and they are ready to transfer the ownership to the claimant right away unless the owner declines it within 72 hours.

I paid $150K for a name. A year and a half later the sellers sued me for cybersquatting among other things and claimed the name was stolen.

damn!

 

[Kventures]

Was an international transfer, about 5 days ago.

so payment is fully cleared.

Contact bank and stop payment on the wire transfer. If we are talking a few days here, then it can still be done.

The receiving bank will honor the request, bank to bank, and the receiving bank will then bill the recipient's account.

If he has already spent the money, too bad for him. His bank will want their money back and it will be their issue to deal with.

Unless we are talking international transfer.

What a damn mess!

 

[AlienGG]

Was an international transfer, about 5 days ago.

so payment is fully cleared.

Worth a try buddy. Just try it.

 

[DomainsInc]

I paid $150K for a name. A year and a half later the sellers sued me for cybersquatting among other things and claimed the name was stolen.

Wow, i surely hope things went your way in this situation.

 

[Kventures]

Worth a try buddy. Just try it.

See I really want to do this

however the last thing I want is for my account to be under investigation for dealing with scammers and thieves. I doubt it's a very simple process...

I'm sure I soon as I tell my bank what happened, my life will become all the more complicated.

Anybody have experience with offshore banks and recovering money?

 

[AlienGG]

I haven't gone so far to defeat international fraud transactions, but I got my money back from a Florida scammer solicitating fake Visa card over the phone. They took the money directly from my Citibank bank account. Gotta give credit to Citi for their quick response.