Here's the email I received (from "Matthew Zeng" -- all errors are from the email sender):
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are a service agency for registering domain names. Our center received an application from Sean Lim International Ltd. today. They applied for the registration of rwdigest as their Brand Name and some top-level domain names. But we found the main body of domain names is same as yours. We are not sure about the relationship between you and them. As the registrar, we have the duty to inform you the case.
Now, we are processing this application. Our center needs to confirm whether this company is authorized by your company. If so, we will continue the next step of registration. If not, please let me know as soon as possible in order that our center can deal with this problem timely. We await your prompt reply.
Best Regards
Matthew Zeng
Tel: +86.5516 3491 191
Fax: +86.5516 3491 192
Address:No.1,Xingshun Building, Fengyang Road, Hefei China
I did a Google search for "received email from domain registrar saying someone has applied for domain similar to mine" and came across this Stackexchange thread that confirmed it was a scam.
There were several examples of similar emails -- but more important, it gives the "how" of this scam. How do the scammers monetize their emails?
The answer: Domain registration fees.
If you respond back to the email saying that you own the domain, you will receive one of two responses -- one from the company that purportedly wants to register the domains, indicating they intend to go ahead and register the domains ... and/or a response from the initial contact, saying you have "priority in the registration" of the domains during the "audit period." The company will offer to register the domains for you (rwdigest.cn, rwdigest.com.cn, rwdigest.net.cn, rwdigest.org.cn).
Of course, no one is really interested in registering your domain names. It's a scam to either get you to pay to register these additional domains (AND possibly to steal your payment information once you provide it).
So just IGNORE this email if you get it.
Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeletePerfect. Thanks for providing this information.
ReplyDeleteWe received a very similar email today.
Deleted!!
Many thanks for your info. We just received same email today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, we also received a very similar email today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info - we just got one too.
ReplyDeleteI found a great suggestion from European Domain Centre on this problem which is to put the scammer in contact with another scammer! There is a long list of recently used Asian scammers adresses on their site so you can insert one into a reply telling the scammer that this person is dealing with your domain registrations.
Thanks for Info. We received same mail today and we are not interested in registrate our domain with chinese domainendings.
ReplyDeleteThank you for letting me know. I received an email also which has now been deleted.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this information, you helped me to decide, how to handle this mail - now it´s just a "Delete" :-)
ReplyDeletesame here, thanks for sharing. E-mail is deleted.
ReplyDeleteThanks indeed. It smelled like a scam but was verifying when I stumbled on this. Below is the latest iteration.
ReplyDelete(Letter to CEO or General Manager),
This is a letter to confirm the registration of your company name hollandclinic, please read it carefully. We are an agency engaging in registering brand name and domain names. Today, our center received an application from BAUSK International Ltd >NO SUCH ENTITY< applying to register hollandclinic as their brand name and some top-level domain names(.CN .HK etc). After our careful investigation, We found the main body of domain names is same as yours. As a professional registrar, We are obligated to inform you of this situation.
We are handling the application and we need to confirm whether or not you authorize them to register them? Let me know your answer ASAP so as to solve this promptly. Thanks for your cooperation.
Best Regards,
Jo King
Tel:+86.5516 3491 191
Fax:+86.5516 3491 192
Address:No.1,Xingshun Building,Fengyang Road,Hefei China
Thanks indeed. It smelled like a scam but was verifying when I stumbled on this. Below is the latest iteration.
ReplyDelete(Letter to CEO or General Manager),
This is a letter to confirm the registration of your company name hollandclinic, please read it carefully. We are an agency engaging in registering brand name and domain names. Today, our center received an application from BAUSK International Ltd >NO SUCH ENTITY< applying to register hollandclinic as their brand name and some top-level domain names(.CN .HK etc). After our careful investigation, We found the main body of domain names is same as yours. As a professional registrar, We are obligated to inform you of this situation.
We are handling the application and we need to confirm whether or not you authorize them to register them? Let me know your answer ASAP so as to solve this promptly. Thanks for your cooperation.
Best Regards,
Jo King
Tel:+86.5516 3491 191
Fax:+86.5516 3491 192
Address:No.1,Xingshun Building,Fengyang Road,Hefei China
Ha ha! Really, Jo King? They must have a sense of humor, because they must be JOKING!
DeleteWe've just received a similar request so many thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteWe just got one today too, I even called them (no answer). Was about to start corresponding when it hit me that the individual who forwarded this to me is not listed on our WhoIs details. That set off the alarm bells and I Googled the address. This thread showed up in search. MANY THANKS!
ReplyDeleteJust got that one today. Thanks for advice!
ReplyDeleteDear Mr./Ms.,
We are a service agency for registering domain names. Our center received an application from Polly Huang International today. They applied for the registration of profonanpe as their Brand Name and some top-level domain names. But we found the main body of domain names is same as yours. We are not sure about the relationship between you and them. As the registrar, we have the duty to inform you the case.
Now, we are processing this application. Our center needs to confirm whether this company is authorized by your company. If so, we will continue the next step of registration. If not, please let me know as soon as possible in order that our center can deal with this problem timely. We await your prompt reply.
Best Regards
Josh Wen
Tel:+86 .5516 3491 191
Fax:+86 .5516 3491 192
No.1,Xingshun Building,Fengyang Road,Hefei China
Yep, got the same letter today from Mark Chan claiming to receive an application from BAUSK International. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience, Bridget.
ReplyDeleteYep, got the same letter today from Mark Chan claiming to receive an application from BAUSK International. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience, Bridget.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I got the same email today, but from a "Colin Tan" at same company and location. These people need to be tarred and feathered.
ReplyDeleteI received the same email a few weeks ago (Colin Tan on behalf of BAUSK... seems they do not even bother changins names). Would it be dangerous to just include this thread in a reply to them? ;)
ReplyDeleteGlad you guys are finding this post useful.
ReplyDeleteRe: Anonymous 927/16 -- No, please don't include the thread. Just ignore the email you received.