domainwatch.org

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

” …

NZ Domain Registration Ltd
Published at 3:50pm, 7th August 2006

The Domain Name Commissioner is aware of a mass mail out by an entity “NZ Domain Registration Ltd”.

NZ Domain Registration Ltd appears to be sending pro forma letters to registrants seeking fees for the registration of .net.nz names.

The letters to registrants specify a .net.nz domain name to be registered.

Authorised .nz domain name registrars are not permitted to specify a particular domain name in an offer of registry services. NZ Domain Registration Ltd is not an authorised .nz registrar.

The letters are also in a printed form that looks similar to an invoice or a renewal notice. This may cause confusion.

Registrants who have recently received what appears to be an invoice or a renewal notice for their domain name are strongly advised to look carefully at all details before paying any sum requested.

Registrants are strongly advised to be cautious before proceeding with any registration offered in a letter from NZ Domain Registration Ltd.

Registrants are also reminded that they are under no obligation to proceed with the registration and that doing nothing will not affect their current domain name registrations.

The DNC is monitoring the situation and will investigate any possible breaches of .nz policy. If people have concerns about the actions of NZ Domain Registration Ltd please email info@dnc.org.nz.
… “

Rafferty carries on domain slamming
http://www.geekzone.co.nz/juha/1021

” …

It’s another Rafferty this time though: Blair, who is the brother of Chesley.

Blair’s been mailing .nz registrants in large numbers with these letters:

Which the New Zealand Domain Name Commissioner says looks like invoices or a domain renewal notices, complete with payment slips at the bottom. An MP3 player is held up as a carrot for potential registrants as well.

The people I spoke to for the Computerworld said that Rafferty’s company is asking money for a variant of their existing domain name - for example, if they have somedomain.co.nz, the letter mentions somedomain.net.nz. In other words, you wouldn’t be renewing your domain but registering another one.

Blair apparently took over Chesley’s directorships when the latter brother went bankrupt last year. In July this year, Chesley’s partner Brad Norrish also went bankrupt. Both men have million-dollar judgements against them in the Australian Federal Court.

Unfortunately, it looks like this kind of scamming is hard to stamp out. There are always some people who will fall for it, and at $225 a piece, it doesn’t take long before the scammer makes a return on his “investment”.

If you have a .nz domain and have received one of the above letters - DON’T PAY. Apart from anything, it’s a craptacular deal. Computerworld reader Patrick Baron wrote in and said he can get two years’ worth of .nz registration at Freeparking for $85.39. He also says a 128MB USB-stick MP3 player can be had for around $58, so the $225 Rafferty’s asking is a lousy deal.

I’d like to know how Rafferty can register new .nz domains though like this? The DNC needs to investigate this and de-authorise whoever it is that is helping out Rafferty.

By Juha Saarinen

… “

Rafferty brother continues domain slamming scam
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/0/869000D3A38C3BA7CC2571C3000317D8?OpenDocument

” …

Rafferty brother continues domain slamming scam
By Juha Saarinen, Auckland | Monday, 7 August, 2006

Blair Rafferty is believed to have resurrected his bankrupt brother Chesley’s domain name registration scam, targetting New Zealand and Australian registrants.

Domain name registrants in New Zealand are sent pro-forma invoices asking for $225 for a two-year period through NZ Domain Registration Ltd, with an office address given as 60 Cook Street, Auckland. The address is the same that Chesley Rafferty used in the past and leads to The Corporate Centre, which supplies serviced offices and telephone answering for customers.

Blair Rafferty is listed as the director of New Zealand Domain Registration Ltd, according to the Companies Office.

Clemenger Commmunications National IT Manager Jeremy Strachan says he received twenty such letters for various New Zealand domains. He says the domains are ones registered but not used by him, indicating that the information used by Rafferty is out of date.

Strachan showed Computerworld a copy of the letter, which promises a “free MP3 player” if people take the bait. Another .nz registrant, Patrick Baron, contacted Computerworldto say that he too has targetted by NZ Domain Registration Ltd. Baron says he is being offered the .net.nz version of his existing .co.nz domain for $225.00 including GST, and describes the attempt to as a “slightly more sophisticated mass-mailing attack” than previous such runs.

Chesley Rafferty sent out hundreds of thousands of invoices similar to the ones making the rounds now, was found guilty by Australia’s Federal court in 2004 of false and misleading conduct under the country’s Trade Practices Act.

In 2005, Chesley Rafferty and his business partner Brad Norrish had A$1.3 million damages awarded against them, after the Federal Court found the pair had copied UK domain registrar Nominet’s database of customers. Rafferty went bankrupt last year, and Norrish in July this year.

However, Blair Rafferty has since then taken over as director of his brother’s companies, according to Australian official records.

Computerworld rang the number given for New Zealand Domain Registration Ltd to speak to Blair Rafferty but the call was answered by a voice mail recorder. Our call was not returned.

New Zealand Domain Name Commissioner Debbie Monahan says her office is aware of Rafferty’s mailout, and is working with the Commerce Commission on the case. Monahan says the format of the letters is somewhat different to the last time the slamming scam made the rounds in New Zealand, but adds that the letters still give the impression that they are invoices or renewal notices for domains.

… “

from: whois.publicdomainregistry.com

” …

Owner (Registrant Contact)

Name: Domain Manager
Company: NZ Domain Registration Ltd
Address:

Level 3
60 Cook St

City: Auckland
State: Auckland
Country: NZ
Zip: 1010
Tel No: 064 93531790
Fax No:
Email: info@nzdomainregistation.com

Administrative Contact

Name: Domain Manager
Company: NZ Domain Registration Ltd
Address:

Level 3
60 Cook St

City: Auckland
State: Auckland
Country: NZ
Zip: 1010
Tel No: 064 93531790
Fax No:
Email: info@nzdomainregistation.com

Technical Contact

Name: Domain Manager
Company: NZ Domain Registration Ltd
Address:

Level 3
60 Cook St

City: Auckland
State: Auckland
Country: NZ
Zip: 1010
Tel No: 064 93531790
Fax No:
Email: info@nzdomainregistation.com

Nameserver Details

NameServer: ns1-sullivan.nswebhost.com
NameServer: ns2-sullivan.nswebhost.com

Record Details

Creation Date: Jul 10 2006
Expiration Date: Jul 10 2007

… “

Regarding Chesley Rafferty’s claim in the newspaper article below that I am “obsessive compulsive” about his operations, I have the following statement to make:

It is the type of behaviour that is of interest not the personalities. I have been consistent with my approach to this kind of behaviour long before Chesley Rafferty and Bradley Norrish arrived on the scene (see the domainwatch.org and dotau.org archives). It is also my belief that past behaviour is usually the best predictor of future behaviour.

As long as domain registrants believe they are being misled and deceived then I will continue to watch those companies and people responsible.

Here are three examples:

Example 1:

November 26, 2001
Aust domain name resellers brace for bloodbath
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/Aust_domain_name_resellers_brace_for_bloodbath/0,39023166,20262049,00.htm

Mark Spektor (Internet Name Group) asserted ” … Rowe has been conducting a smear campaign against us for sometime and has refused to desist … ”

July 11, 2006
Domain name entrepreneur declared bankrupt
http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztech/domain-name-entrepreneur-declared-bankrupt/2006/07/10/1152383674987.html?page=fullpage

” … Mr Rafferty accuses Mr Rowe of being “obsessive compulsive” about his operations … ”

Example 2:

Blair Rafferty’s DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd, which ” … (Chesley) Rafferty says he has nothing to with the operation of … “, is the latest addition to the watch list.

Example 3:

Here are some of the companies and people reported on domainwatch.org - does Chesley Rafferty’s quote in today’s Age infer that they all relate to him?

Blair Rafferty
Bradley Norrish
Chesley Rafferty
ComAURegister
Craig Oehlers
Diverse Internet
Domain Name Authority of Australia
Domain Names Australia
Domain Names NZ
Domain Services
DomainName.com.au
Domains Australia
Ezinames
Federal Bureau of Domain Names
IMCO Corporation
Internet Name Group
Internet Registrations Australia
Internet Registrations Worldwide
Internet Registry
iRegistrations
NetRegister
Paul Fox
Peter Jacobs
ProWeb Solutions
Registry Group
UK Internet Registry

Domain name entrepreneur declared bankrupt
http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztech/domain-name-entrepreneur-declared-bankrupt/2006/07/10/1152383674987.html?page=fullpage

” …

Domain name entrepreneur declared bankrupt
Nick Miller
July 11, 2006
Next

CONTROVERSIAL internet domain name entrepreneur Brad Norrish has been declared bankrupt, but the brother of his former business partner is still selling domain names.

Domainwatch.org, a self-appointed watchdog of Mr Norrish’s operations has warned businesses to keep a keen eye out for domain name marketing spam that closly resembles an invoice.

Mr Norrish, 27, from Western Australia, was declared bankrupt last Monday, which he says will “bring varying levels of happiness to those involved in selling domains”.

Mr Norrish signed off an email to an industry listgroup with the promise, “if the game’s still worth playing in 3 years time I might just get a recall . . . with fresh legs”.

“The game” is the lucrative business of marketing domain name registrations. But Mr Norrish and his business partner, Chesley Rafferty, have been warned by the umpire that they play outside the rules.

Last year the Federal Court awarded $1.3 million damages for breach of copyright against Mr Norrish and Mr Rafferty. The court found they had used data mining search techniques to copy a British domain name registrar’s database of customers.

They then sent 50,000 “invoices” to those customers telling them their domain was up for renewal, a practice known as “domain slamming”.

Lesley Cowley, CEO of Nominet, says: “The bankruptcy brings an appropriate and successful end to the litigation against (Norrish and Rafferty).”

Mr Norrish says the bankruptcy “takes a lot of pressure off my shoulders”.

“It’s the end to a long and pitiful legal dispute,” he says.

He says he is still friends, but not a business partner, with Mr Rafferty.

In 2004, the Federal Court found Mr Rafferty and his company, Domain Names Australia (DNA), guilty of false and misleading conduct under the Trade Practices Act for a similar operation: mailing hundreds of thousands of notices that looked like invoices for renewal of a domain name.

If filled in and returned, the notices registered a new domain name through Mr Rafferty’s company.

The court instructed Mr Rafferty to let his customers know of the deception.

When contacted by Next, Mr Rafferty said there had been “a lot of hype” about his marketing style. DNA continued to operate after the Federal Court action, changing the notices to comply with the court’s ruling, he says.

DNA has since been wound up. Mr Rafferty says that since his bankruptcy late last year he has not been doing “anything” - apart from some consulting work - in the area of domain name marketing.

However, ASIC records reveal that Mr Rafferty’s younger brother, Blair, took over Chesley Rafferty’s roles as director of the companies Domains Australia, Domainname.com.au and Firebird Corporation.

Domainname.com.au, based in Melbourne but registered in WA, offers domain registration and website hosting.

According to the Domainwatch.org website, customers are complaining about marketing material that Domainname.com.au sends out offering domain name registration. One customer says the material gives the false impression of being invoices renewing an existing domain.

Domainwatch.org writer Josh Rowe says domain name registration is a difficult industry to police.

“Beware ‘invoices’ coming from companies you are not aware of, and always go back to check who you have registered a domain with,” Mr Rowe says.

However, Mr Rafferty accuses Mr Rowe of being “obsessive compulsive” about his operations.

“There’s a lot of people in the industry that got in trouble that he doesn’t seem to write about,” he says. “Where’s letters about (accused domain slammer) Domain Registry of America? They still mail into Australia . . . they would have made 10 times or more money than myself or Brad (Norrish).”

Mr Rafferty says he has nothing to to with the operation of his brother’s company, Domainname.com.au. Blair Rafferty could not be contacted by Next.

Mr Norrish says he is no longer marketing domain names.

“Domain names rate alongside roo shooting in terms of market size,” he says. “I would like to be in a market that there is more room to move in.”

Earlier this year he was accused of “cybersquatting” alternative versions of well-known corporations’ sites.

He attracted the ire of US sports TV channel ESPN by registering the domain name espn.com.au and was ordered to surrender ownership of the domain webjet.com.

However, Mr Norrish says the ESPN site was registered by an employee without his knowledge.

He says “in the past” he owned thousands of domain names because “the market was very cheap”, but the company that owned the names is in administration.

“I think domain name registration should be handled by a government department, along with business name registration and company registration,” he says.

“The ’self-regulated’ system at the moment really means that (domain register) auDA is controlled by popular vote of the majority of domain providers”.

… “

A DomainName.com.au customer has complained about their practices, which could be misleading and deceptive. The customer has:

1. been sold a new domain name (breathofthewok.com) in the belief that he was renewing his existing domain name (breathofthewok.com.au),
2. had his new domain name registered for only 1 year - not the 2 years he paid for,
3. with the registrant details listed as DomainName.com.au - not his own, and
4. has not received his “FREE” MP3 player

Click on this link for more information on how to complain about billing scams.

” …

i received this week a letter from DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd. the letter looked familiar as it was a request to register the domain for two years with the offer of an mp3 player.

looking back through my records I found that i had sent a cheque to DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd back in early February 2006. I began to have suspicions and tried to phone the organisation. however i received only a message over the last two days that all operators are busy. i then phoned my webpage host to confirm the domain organisation used when the website was set up nearly two years ago. they informed me that DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd was not the organisation. back in February I had payed the money in good faith expecting that a prompt would be made about two years from the date of website set up. so I have paid money that i cannot really afford, not received the confirmation or the promised mp3 player. Act in haste, repent at leisure.

Comment by garry mann — Friday May 5 2006 @ 1:28 pm

… “

from: whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com

Registration Service Provided By: FIREBIRD CORPORATION
Contact: +613.99236505

Domain Name: BREATHOFTHEWOK.COM

Registrant:
DomainName.com.au
Domain Manager (directi@domainname.com.au)
Level 50
120 Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria,3000
AU
Tel. +613.99236505

Creation Date: 01-May-2006
Expiration Date: 01-May-2007

Domain servers in listed order:
ns1.domainserv.net
ns2.domainserv.net

Administrative Contact:
DomainName.com.au
Domain Manager (directi@domainname.com.au)
Level 50
120 Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria,3000
AU
Tel. +613.99236505

Technical Contact:
DomainName.com.au
Domain Manager (directi@domainname.com.au)
Level 50
120 Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria,3000
AU
Tel. +613.99236505

Billing Contact:
DomainName.com.au
Domain Manager (directi@domainname.com.au)
Level 50
120 Collins Street
Melbourne
Victoria,3000
AU
Tel. +613.99236505

Status:ACTIVE

Following my post to the .au DNS list, the domain name which Alison Stone paid for prior to March 31 has just been registered. Whilst DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd was quick to bank Alison’s cheque, they took 30+ days to register Alison’s domain name.

However the “FREE” MP3 player is still to be delivered - apparently due to “supplier” issues.

from: whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com

Registration Service Provided By: DOMAINNAME.COM.AU
Contact: +613.99236505

Domain Name: MILDURATOURS.COM

Registrant:
Mildura Discovery Tours
Phill and Alison Stone (info@milduratours.com.au)
[…]

Creation Date: 02-May-2006
Expiration Date: 02-May-2008

Domain servers in listed order:
ns2.domainserv.net
ns1.domainserv.net

Administrative Contact:
Mildura Discovery Tours
Phill and Alison Stone (info@milduratours.com.au)
[…]

Technical Contact:
Mildura Discovery Tours
Phill and Alison Stone (info@milduratours.com.au)
[…]

Billing Contact:
Mildura Discovery Tours
Phill and Alison Stone (info@milduratours.com.au)
[…]

Status:ACTIVE

Blair Rafferty’s DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd has been sending out marketing notices which look like invoices - according to recipients.

Registrants have reported that the notices give the impression that they are renewing their existing “com.au” domain name (eg mybiz.com.au), when in fact they are purchasing a brand new “.com” domain name (eg mybiz.com).

Click on this link for more information on how to complain about billing scams.

Here is what one domainwatch reader had to say about the marketing notices:

” …

Was sent what looked like an invoice from a company called “DomainName Pty.Ltd” and was offered a free MP3 player if I paid our account by end March. I paid the ammount of $225 by March end for what I found out later was an offer to register for a dot com listing. I rang this company after speaking to my web designer (who had covered my domain name to be registered through another provider) and did receive a return call explaining what I had paid for, my cheque had already been cleared. I know I should have checked this out before paying money over but wonder how many others who are busy get caught out in a similar way. At the worst I have lost money, but I believe I will be listed as a dot com address for two years. Disappointing that with one call I could have avoided loosing this money. We have not long taken over an existing business and with all of the many jobs needed to be done this one has slipped by me.

… “

The registrant has not received the MP3 player and the new “.com” domain name, which they paid for, has not been registered either.

ASIC records for DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd are below. Note that Chesley Rafferty is a previous director and the current company registered office is identical to Chesley Rafferty’s postal address.

One of Chesley Raffery’s previous companies, Domain Names Australia Pty Ltd, was found guilty of misleading and deceptive conduct by an Australian Federal Court. Chesley Rafferty is now bankrupt.

——————————————————————————–
Company Name: DOMAINNAME.COM.AU P/L
ACN: 114032307
ABN:
Company Status: Registered
Trading Addresses

50/ 120 COLLINS ST, MELBOURNE, VIC 3000

——————————————————————————–
Company Information
Name: DOMAINNAME.COM.AU P/L
Status: Registered ACN: 114032307 ABN:
Principal Activity:
Last ASIC Search Date: 27/04/2006
Name Start Date: 29/04/2005

——————————————————————————–
Registered Office

[private] ROYAL ST, EAST PERTH, WA 6004

——————————————————————————–
Trading Addresses

50/ 120 COLLINS ST, MELBOURNE, VIC 3000

——————————————————————————–
Shareholders
Name: Number Of Shares:
FIREBIRD CORPORATION PTY LTD 100

——————————————————————————–
Directors
Name: RAFFERTY, BLAIR JOHN
Date Appointed: 20/05/2005
Year Of Birth: 1981
Sex: Male
Address: [private] MOUNT LAWLEY, WA 6050

——————————————————————————–
Previous Directors
Name: CHESLEY PAUL RAFFERTY
Date Appointed: 29/04/2005
Year Of Birth: 1979
Sex: Male
Cease Date: 20/05/2005
Address: [private] ROYAL ST EAST PERTH , WA 6004
——————————————————————————–

Blair Rafferty is a director of a few other companies.

——————————————————————————–
Director Information
BLAIR JOHN RAFFERTY

——————————————————————————–
Director
Name: RAFFERTY, BLAIR JOHN
First Reported: 20072000
Year of Birth: 1981 Sex: Male

——————————————————————————–
Addresses First Reported
[private] INGLEWOOD, WA 6052 19122005
[private] MOUNT LAWLEY, WA 6050 20072000

——————————————————————————–
Employers
Date: 20/12/2005
Occupation: OTHER GENERAL
Employer: DOMAINNAME.COM.AU

——————————————————————————–
Director Of Companies
Company: MARKETING WEST P/L
Company Status: Registered
ACN: 118113492
ABN:
Appointment Date: 31/01/2006

Company: DOMAINS AUSTRALASIA P/L
Company Status: Registered
ACN: 111537136
ABN:
Appointment Date: 23/06/2005

Company: DOMAINNAME.COM.AU P/L
Company Status: Registered
ACN: 114032307
ABN:
Appointment Date: 20/05/2005

Company: FIREBIRD CORPORATION P/L
Company Status: Registered
ACN: 111537109
ABN:
Appointment Date: 01/04/2005

——————————————————————————–

from: whois.ausregsitry.com.au

Domain Name: domainname.com.au
Last Modified: Never Updated
Registrar ID: R00020-AR
Registrar Name: Explorer
Status: OK

Registrant: DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd
Registrant ID: ABN 93 114 032 307

Registrant ROID: C2139960-AR
Registrant Contact Name: IT Manager
Registrant Email: domainsaustralia@email.net.au

Tech ID: C2139960-AR
Tech Name: IT Manager
Tech Email: domainsaustralia@email.net.au

Name Server: ns1-sullivan.nswebhost.com
Name Server: ns2-sullivan.nswebhost.com