domainwatch.org

On the prowl for easy prey
http://www.news.com.au/sundaytelegraph/story/0,,20391879-5001081,00.html

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September 12, 2006 12:00
Article from: The Daily Telegraph

WHAT’S in a name? Quite a lot actually if you have an internet domain name and don’t pay close attention to who should be sending you the bill to keep it.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has received a number of complaints from domain name owners who have paid for domain names similar to, but not identical to the ones they already have a license to use.

A number of unsolicited mass mail-outs not just here but in New Zealand and elsewhere abroad have been catching out unwary owners.

Often, these letters capitalise on a lack of understanding of the intricacies of the domain name system, or simply rely on busy owners paying the invoice without thoroughly checking it.

Many of these owners find themselves paying for domains they don’t want or need.

For instance, someone whose registered website goes under the domain name of www.your-business.com.au, might receive a letter asking them to pay for www.your-business.net.au or www.your-business.com.

While seemingly similar, these are in fact completely unrelated domain names and customers are unwittingly paying to sign up for a second name.

Where this type of activity has involved deliberately misleading invoices, the ACCC has already taken action. However, despite the publicity surrounding the cases businesses are still being caught out.

The good news is there are some simple steps that domain name owners can take to protect themselves from being caught out or ripped off.

When signing up for a domain name, owners can expect to receive both a tax invoice and a registry key or password.

Keep these in a safe place as they are important for future use of that name when setting up a website.

The invoice should also be used to cross-check any offers that come in.

Look to ensure the name of the company is the same as the one you originally signed up with.

Also note the renewal date for your original domain name.

Most importantly, check that the actual name of the domain matches exactly to the one you took out originally and the one that is used for your website, and is not a slight variation possibly designed to confuse you.

There are a number of useful resources available to domain name owners wanting to check the validity of an invoice.

The ACCC has a fact sheet on domain name registrations on its website www.accc.gov.au — follow the business link.

For .au domain names www.auda.org.au carries consumer warnings about domain name scams.

This website also contains a registry and look-up service of .au domain names.

The Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts also published a free booklet Staking your Claim on the Web which is available online at www.dcita.gov.au.

Those who feel they may have been misled can contact the ACCC on 1300 302 502.

Graeme Samuel is chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
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Rafferty’s rules
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/when-a-test-match-turns-to-ashes/2006/08/22/1156012542788.html?page=fullpage

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Ian Porter and Nabila Ahmed
August 23, 2006

FULL DISCLOSURE

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Rafferty’s rules

THIS is an alert for the citizens of the wild west, otherwise known as Western Australia.

We believe they are about to have in their midst one Blair Rafferty, proprietor of Domains Australia Pty Ltd, a company that recently came to the attention of auDA, the domain names administrator in Australia.

It seems Domains Australia has come up with a digital-age twist on the David Tweed method of blanket-mailing unsuspecting targets in the hope that 1 or 2 or 3 per cent of them will bite.

Rafferty’s company has been snail mailing or faxing everyone who operates a com.au domain name offering to register a net.au equivalent for just $225. Plus you get a free MP3 player for each registration.

Many people have contacted auDA complaining that their new domain names have not been registered. What’s more, they’re not getting their MP3 players, either.

In a consumer alert issued this week, auDA pointed out that Domains Australia was not an accredited registrar or a reseller for an accredited registrar.

The administrator is familiar with the Rafferty name, having successfully taken legal action against Chesley Rafferty, brother of Blair, under the Trade Practices Act.

So, if you are still waiting for your shiny, new domain name and have suddenly started experiencing a terrible sinking feeling in your stomach, auDA suggests that you contact the ACCC.

In contrast to the snail mail way in which your problem started, you can at least lodge an electronic complaint form on the ACCC website.

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Domain name entrepreneur goes west
http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztech/domain-name-entrepreneur-goes-west/2006/08/21/1156012473234.html

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Domain name entrepreneur goes west
By NICK MILLER
August 22, 2006

Domain name entrepreneur Blair Rafferty has a spectacular view from his office on the 50th floor of a Melbourne high-rise but doesn’t seem to have enjoyed it. After receiving a shot across the bows last week from .au domain name administrator auDA, and an injunction from a New Zealand court, he appears to have moved to Perth and gone into the mobile phone business.

Mr Rafferty, 24, is the younger brother of bankrupt Chesley Rafferty, who was successfully sued in 2003 by the ACCC for sending out letters that looked like invoices inviting people to register domain names.

Last month we reported that Chesley appeared to have handed on the “family business” to Blair. Last Wednesday auDA issued a “consumer alert” on Blair’s business dealings, concerned that he was sending letters to domain name registrants offering to register the .net.au equivalent of their .com.au domain, plus a free MP3 player.

The auDA says the letters may mislead people into believing they are renewing an existing domain rather than buying a new one. The $225 charge is much higher than the going rate, and numerous customers complained that the .net.au domains were not registered and MP3 players not sent.

The auDA is taking legal advice on whether it can take civil action against the younger Mr Rafferty, auDA chief Chris Disspain says. The ACCC has also received complaints but would not say if it was investigating them. The Age tried unsuccessfully to contact Blair Rafferty at the Collins Street offices of DomainName.com.au.

Last Monday Justice Hansen of the New Zealand High Court froze the local local accounts of Mr Rafferty’s company NZ Domain Registration Ltd and ordered the company to stop soliciting domain name registrations.

ASIC records reveal Mr Rafferty last month registered three new businesses in Perth: Aussie Messenger, Fun Messages and Ausmobiles.com.

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The Australian Domain Name Administrator, .auDA, has issued a consumer alert to .au domain name registrants by email.

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From: consumeralert@auda.org.au
To: undisclosed-recipients
Date: 18-Aug-2006 20:44
Subject: CONSUMER ALERT from auDA, The Australian Domain Name Administrator

You are receiving this email because your email address is listed as the registrant contact address for a .au domain name. Please do NOT reply to this email.

auDA has become aware that Domains Australia Pty Ltd is sending letters and/or faxes to some domain name registrants offering to arrange registration of the net.au equivalent of the registrants com.au domain name for $225.

The letter is headed .DOMAIN NAME AVAILABLE. and some versions of it offer a free MP3 player with each registration.

auDA has received numerous complaints which indicate that; 1. despite the net.au name being paid for, it is NOT being registered and 2. registrants are NOT receiving the .free. MP3 player.

Based on the complaints received auDA is concerned that the letters may mislead people into believing that they are renewing their existing com.au domain name when in fact they are purchasing a new net.au name.

Further, consumers should be aware that $225 for a net.au domain name is significantly higher than prices charged by auDA accredited registrars and their resellers.

Domains Australia Pty Ltd is a company controlled by Blair Rafferty, the brother of Chesley Rafferty. It is NOT an auDA accredited registrar nor is it a reseller of an auDA accredited registrar.

auDA has previously successfully taken legal action against Chesley Rafferty and companies controlled by him under the Trade Practices Act.

If you have paid Domains Australia Pty Ltd and the domain name has not been registered or you have not received the .free. MP3 player and you wish to lodge a formal complaint, auDA advises that you immediately contact the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) either by lodging an electronic complaint at http://www.accc.gov.au/ or by faxing it to their Canberra office on
(02) 6243 1199. Alternatively you may wish to contact your State based fair trading or consumer affairs office.

A similar mass mail out has also occurred in New Zealand. New Zealand Domain Registration Ltd, owned by Blair Rafferty, was recently exposed on a New Zealand television program Fair Go. To view this video please http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/816241.

For more information see http://www.auda.org.au.

auDA
www.auda.org.au
info@auda.org.au

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InternetNZ, through the Office of the Domain Name Commissioner, has obtained an interim injunction against NZ Domain Registration Limited.

NZ Domain Registration Ltd
http://www.dnc.org.nz/story/30259-29-1.html

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Further Update:

InternetNZ, through the Office of the Domain Name Commissioner (DNC), has obtained an interim injunction against NZ Domain Registration Limited (NZDRL). The injunction relates to NZDRL’s recent mass mail out. A copy of the Court’s order may be read here.

Money or cheques forwarded to NZDRL as a result of a recent mass mail out will be held in New Zealand pending the court’s final decision about whether NZDRL’s actions are legal or illegal.

The DNC wants any people who responded by mistake to NZDRL to get their money back. The DNC also wants to make sure that NZDRL gets domain names for the people who did mean to respond - if the domain names are still available.

In the Court proceedings the DNC claims that: NZDRL’s offers of .nz domain names look like invoices; NZDRL’s offers are likely to mislead or deceive recipients into paying them by mistake; NZDRL appears to be controlled from Western Australia; The DNC wants, at least, to have all responses to the offers held in New Zealand until everyone who has responded to them has confirmed whether or not they meant to try to register a new domain name.

NZDRL has not yet advised the Court of its full responses to the DNC’s claims. NZDRL has claimed that its offers are made in good faith and that its offer of a free MP3 player remains good.

The DNC notes that NZDRL’s offer does not ask for sufficient information to allow a .nz domain name to be registered.

NZDRL is not an authorised .nz registrar (or a reseller for an authorised ..nz registrar). NZDRL has not already registered the .nz domain names that it is offering to members of the public.

People who accept NZDRL’s offer may find that the domain name they want has been registered to someone else before NZDRL could get it. The .nz registry operates online on a “first come, first served” basis.

The DNC still encourages people to be cautious when deciding what action to take in respect of NZDRL’s notices.

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