Aberdeen City Trading Standards Service has warned local small business owners about an Internet domain name fraud. An unidentified individual has called several companies in Aberdeen claiming to be the representative of an Internet business protection organization. The caller told companies that somebody else in the Aberdeen area wanted to register a domain name identical to the name of the contacted company. The caller offered to prevent this by registering the domain name for the local business owner first for a fee. The quoted fees varied from GBP 50 to GBP 200. The caller declined to provide any written information, insisting that everything should be arranged by phone. The phone number from which the call initiated was not displayed.
Nominet.uk (www.nominet.org.uk) manages domain name registrations in the United Kingdom. Domain names are registered on a first come, first served base with a price of GBP 30 for two years, though some online advertisements offer a price of less than GBP 10 per year. Domain name availability and registration details can be obtained from the website of Nominet.uk.
Bill Fraser, Principal Officer with Aberdeen Trading Standards Service advised business owners that it was highly unlikely that anyone would try to register a domain name in the name of some other business. He said that there was no agency, which would telephone to offer first refusal on a name. Fraser added that this seemed to be a blatant attempt to get money for something, which people could do themselves for a fraction of the coat quoted.
The Trading Standards Service in Aberdeen advised anyone who had received such a call and felt that they had been misled to contact the Service in Aberdeen on (01224) 523737 or to call their local Trading Standards Service if they were based outside Aberdeen.
