Who is "Domain Registry Support" - legit or fraud?

[Jeff]

I got a strange call from a company called "Domain Registry Support" http://domainregistrysupport.com/ -- I had a very hard time understanding the woman (Paula) and had to have her spell the domain name in question. She said the company was not a registrar but a "notification" company and wanted my fax number to send me a one page fax (but would not tell me what the issue was in regard to or what specifically this was concerning.) She gave the address of 511 Avenue of America, NY City, NY 11001

I assume this might be a fraud like the domain registry of america? Or does anyone think this might be a legitimate company? Would ICANN or similar ever request my fax number in this manner? I hate to give it out to fraud companies for fear of getting junk faxes, or worse, "approving" some transfer by giving out information when I couldn't understand what the operator was saying.

[Freddo]

Sounds like a scam to me. I simply hang up on people these days!:p

[Jeff]

Thanks Michael - that's what I thought at the time, but then after I hung up (after 5 minutes of having them spell the domain and "avenue" to understand and not being able to get any info on why specifically they were calling to get the fax number) the worry hit me about "valid contact information on a domain per icann rules" that we get emailed yearly. But I think the fact that my phone number and address are legit are enough and refusal to give out a fax number without some information why shouldn't be a problem... just wanted to make sure though :)

Can't quite figure out what they were up to.

[Freddo]

Well to be honest I don't have any valid information on any of my domains. My phone number is incorrect and my street address is missing the numbers. My name is "The" "Manager". Using valid information just leads to unsolicited phone calls and unsolicited mail. The email address is the only thing that is correct.:D

I think ICANN would understand that anyone can make a typo, and would give you a chance to fix it.
N.B. I don't have any domains with resellone... I just resell the website builder and certs.

[Jeff]

If resellone wanted to contact us about a domain, I'm sure the call would come from resellone or EV1. What if ICANN wanted to contact someone about a domain - who would the call come from?

[Laurie-Resell1]

If resellone wanted to contact us about a domain, I'm sure the call would come from resellone or EV1. What if ICANN wanted to contact someone about a domain - who would the call come from?
Jeff, if we were trying to contact you regarding your domain name we would indeed identify ourselves as resellone. I have yet to call anyone of our customers regarding their domains, except in the case where we are providing a specific service, that is not the norm. In the case of the domain expiring, emails are sent by the system to the listed admin contact email address at 90, 60, 30, 10, and 5 day intervals prior to the name expiring, we do not call and request fax numbers. As far as having valid information in your contact information, a WDRP email would be sent and upon failure to comply and edit the information, there is the risk of the domain being taken over in accordance with ICANN policy.

[Jeff]

If there were a dispute or some other "action" against a domain, by whom and by what means would a resellone-registered domain owner be contacted? Does it fall to resellone to notify the domain holder, or might there be circumstances where ICANN really did call a domain owner directly? Do they "contract out" with any other companies to do thier notifications/dispute resolution/contact information verification, etc.?

[Laurie-Resell1]

If there were a dispute or some other "action" against a domain, by whom and by what means would a resellone-registered domain owner be contacted? Does it fall to resellone to notify the domain holder, or might there be circumstances where ICANN really did call a domain owner directly? Do they "contract out" with any other companies to do thier notifications/dispute resolution/contact information verification, etc.?


As far as I know there would only be contact from ICANN or WIPO regarding a dispute, they would definately identify themselves, and this would normally be a pretty extreme case for them to be involved. We do have a compliance person here, and should such an issue arise you can email either domainmanager@resellone.net or compliance@resellone.net. I will double check with Brooke on this though because she is the ICANN QUEEN!

[Brooke-Resell1]

As far as I know there would only be contact from ICANN or WIPO regarding a dispute, they would definately identify themselves, and this would normally be a pretty extreme case for them to be involved. We do have a compliance person here, and should such an issue arise you can email either domainmanager@resellone.net or compliance@resellone.net. I will double check with Brooke on this though because she is the ICANN QUEEN!

The contact would only come from us. ICANN would not contact you regarding an issue directly, unless responding to an inquiry you initiated with them.

[Brooke-Resell1]

I got a strange call from a company called "Domain Registry Support" http://domainregistrysupport.com/ -- I had a very hard time understanding the woman (Paula) and had to have her spell the domain name in question. She said the company was not a registrar but a "notification" company and wanted my fax number to send me a one page fax (but would not tell me what the issue was in regard to or what specifically this was concerning.) She gave the address of 511 Avenue of America, NY City, NY 11001

I assume this might be a fraud like the domain registry of america? Or does anyone think this might be a legitimate company? Would ICANN or similar ever request my fax number in this manner? I hate to give it out to fraud companies for fear of getting junk faxes, or worse, "approving" some transfer by giving out information when I couldn't understand what the operator was saying.

By the way, that address is VERY different than what is in the WHOIS information of domainregistrysupport.com...

Registrant:
Diversified Group, SA
Suite 11521
APDO 0832-1236
World Trade Centre, Panama Centro 0832
PA

Registrar: ADDRCREAT
Domain Name: DOMAINREGISTRYSUPPORT.COM
Created on: 30-JUL-04
Expires on: 30-JUL-07
Last Updated on: 22-FEB-06

Administrative, Technical Contact:
Sussman, M.
Diversified Group, SA
Suite 11521
APDO 0832-1236
World Trade Centre, Panama Centro 0832
PA
(011)(48)22-389-6930
(011)(48)00-000-0000


Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.LEBNAN.NET
NS2.LEBNAN.NET

[Jeff]

The contact would only come from us. ICANN would not contact you regarding an issue directly, unless responding to an inquiry you initiated with them.
Thank you very much for the confirming this. Now I can rest well at night having not fallen for this scam, but I just wanted to be doubly sure.

Yes, interesting that their whois doesn't match and is vague like their name and the woman on the phone: "domain registry support" and "Diversified Group" with some addresses which sound "like" big and recongnizable addresses to people when they say them quickly - I think it's definitely some type of scam.

Many thanks to everyone for setting my mind at ease.

[Brooke-Resell1]

Thank you very much for the confirming this. Now I can rest well at night having not fallen for this scam, but I just wanted to be doubly sure.

Yes, interesting that their whois doesn't match and is vague like their name and the woman on the phone: "domain registry support" and "Diversified Group" with some addresses which sound "like" big and recongnizable addresses to people when they say them quickly - I think it's definitely some type of scam.

Many thanks to everyone for setting my mind at ease.

Anytime, Jeff! We're always happy to help.