A new scam: didnr.com.cn Asian Domain Registration Service

Being subject to domain-related scams is a sad, sad reality of owning a domain name. I talk about them in my SBA class on small businesses, and I have seen plenty of scams (I own lots of domain names).  I received a new one recently that almost had me convinced it was real, and want to share it in case I can help protect anyone else from this scam. Before getting into it though, I should mention that if you’re any kind of scammer operating a business that depends on preying on naive people, I think you’re the worst kind of scum on this planet. Please do us all a favor and remove yourself.

The first thing that happens in this scam is you get an email with the following contents:

(It’s very urgent, Please transfer this email to your CEO or appropriate person, thanks)

Dear CEO,

We are the department of Asian Domain Registration Service in china. I have something to confirm with you. We formally received an application on April 16, 2012 that a company which self-styled “ANTA Industrial ltd” were applying to register “xxxxxxxxxx” as their Net Brand and following domain names:
xxxxxxxxxx.asia
xxxxxxxxxx.cn
xxxxxxxxxx.co.in
xxxxxxxxxx.com.cn
xxxxxxxxxx.com.hk
xxxxxxxxxx.com.tw
xxxxxxxxxx.hk
xxxxxxxxxx.in
xxxxxxxxxx.net.cn
xxxxxxxxxx.org.cn
xxxxxxxxxx.tw
After our initial checking, we have found the name were similar to your company’s, so we need to check with you whether your company has authorized that company to register these names. If you have authorized this, we will finish the registration at once. If you have not, please let us know within 7 workdays, so that we will handle this issue better. Out of the time limit we will unconditionally finish the registration for ANTA Industrial ltd.

Best Regards,
Sam Yao
Reg Dept. Director
Tel: (+86) 551-5223114 || Fax: (+86) 551-5223113
Address:No.1688 Taihu Road,Baohe District,Hefei,Anhui,China

If you respond, they reply with the following:

Dear Allan Chao,

Thank you for your reply.After receiving the application from ANTA Industrial ltd, we checked and found xxxxxxxxxx is your brand name, that’s why we contacted with you. Domain names registration is open, they also have the right to register those domain names, but you have the preferential right to register them.

Following is the procedure, you can do follow it.

1.Please fill out the form and return it via email(scaned) or fax.
2.We will dispute these domains for your company, In the meantime, we will send the Invoice signed & stamped to you.
3.Please remit the payment to us according to the bank information on the Invoice and send the payment proof to us.
4.We will register the domain names for you within 2 workdays after receiving the remittance.
5.You will be awarded the certificates of Net Brand after 15 workdays.

Following is price list, for your reference:
xxxxxxxxxx.asia 35 USD/Per Year
xxxxxxxxxx.in 35 USD/Per Year
xxxxxxxxxx.co.in 35 USD/Per Year
xxxxxxxxxx.cn 45 USD/Per Year
xxxxxxxxxx.com.cn 45 USD/Per Year
xxxxxxxxxx.net.cn 45 USD/Per Year
xxxxxxxxxx.org.cn 45 USD/Per Year
xxxxxxxxxx.tw 55 USD/Per Year
xxxxxxxxxx.com.tw 55 USD/Per Year
xxxxxxxxxx.hk 55 USD/Per Year
xxxxxxxxxx.com.hk 55 USD/Per Year
Net Brand:
xxxxxxxxxx 150 USD/Per Year

The Dispute Application Form is attached, pls check it.
Please fill the form and return it to us ASAP if you have no questions, we will help you to dispute and register these domain names as per the information you fill in the form. Thank you for your cooperation.

Have a great day!

Best Regards,

Sam Yao

Reg Dept. Director
Tel: (+86) 551-5223114 || Fax: (+86) 551-5223113
Address:No.1688 Taihu Road,Baohe District,Hefei,Anhui,China

You can find out more about this scam here:
- http://blog.onlymyemail.com/domain-name-disputes/
- http://www.firetrust.com/en/blog/chris/domain-name-scams