Possible Domain Theft Scam By GoDaddy

[Zema Bus]

I received this email from my registrar today regarding a domain I registered 10 years ago:

Dear Customer,

We have recently received a request to opt the following domain name into the Afternic listing service:

travellauncher.com

In order to approve the listing of this name, please visit the following URL and provide the proper authorization code:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Please note that providing the authorization code only confirms the name will be listed in the listing service. It will NOT be transferred unless the name is sold, or if a separate transfer request is placed (at which point, the authorization code will need to be provided).

I'd never even heard of Afternic before. I looked it up and it seems to be a part of Godaddy. I read several discussions about this, also this Reddit thread. Godaddy is trying to sell it for $5,000. I have a transfer lock in place so that should prevent it from being transferred without my authorization. I sent a message to Afternic asking them to remove the fraudulent listing. I had a domain at Godaddy about 15 years ago (not this one), I remember it being a struggle to transfer it out of that scummy company. Thought I'd seen the last of them.

[Grogan]

Why those fargin sneaky bastages. Domain registrars all seem to have scummy behaviour, but that takes the shitcake.

[Zema Bus]

This is what I got back from them today:

Thank you for contacting Afternic regarding the removal of travellauncher.com.


We regret any inconvenience that this may be causing you.


Please understand that we take the integrity of our listings seriously. The only way we can adjudicate a listing dispute (such as a request for removal or a pre-existing listing) in a secure way is to perform ownership verification. Completing the necessary ownership verification to determine who is the current owner/registrant of the domain is the intent of the domain ownership verification process. The use of custom DNS records is the most secure way to accomplish this. If there is something that is not clear in the instructions, please let us know and we'll be happy to help answer any questions.


While we do have QA checks in place at the time of listing a domain, we cannot speak to how the current listing party has passed those ownership checks. The fact that the listing is active means that any removal request must come from someone whom we can verify owns the domain.


In order to remove a listing from Afternic without having access to the listing account, you will need to follow the steps outlined below. These steps are required whether you intend to list the domain for sale in your own account or simply want the listing taken down:


You must create an Afternic account for free at https://sso.afternic.com/account/create if you do not already have one.


Login to your Afternic account and visit https://www.afternic.com/account/ownership to obtain your NS or TXT record.


Contact your registrar or use their control panel to add the NS verification code as a third nameserver.


Or


Use your DNS provider's control panel to add a TXT record.


After adding the nameservers or TXT records to the domains for verification, you still need to go back to the "Add Domains" process, re-submit the listings again, and then you will be given the option to rerun verification/check for custom DNS. This last step is the step that actually "checks" for your custom DNS records and will actually remove the listing for sale. Without completing the rerun verification, the listing will not be removed.


If you complete this step and the listing still is not removed, or you have further issues, please let us know and provide as much detail about the problem as possible and we will be happy to help you troubleshoot further.

What's the point of even owning domain names if a company like Godaddy can come along and legally steal it from you unless you go through all kinds of hoops for a chance they'll let you keep what you paid for through another registrar? All they have to do is a whois lookup to see that the domain is already registered with a different registrar (the privacy setting is in place so it doesn't show my name). Instead they see a domain they want they just say MINE!

And what's going to happen when they manage to sell a stolen domain with a transfer lock in place?

[Grogan]

It's a new trend. Break the law and count on people not being able to do anything about it. From what I got from some of the comments you linked was that for GoDaddy, deep in the fine print, you don't actually "own" your domain, they do, and the extension of that is that they can sell it right out from under you for more money if they want to.

That may be the case with all registrars, I don't read fine print. It could be in there so they have the power to suspend it. You have the rights to it, but unless you have money, time and energy for legal games, they'd get away with it.

They are already erecting barriers for you to even get them to remove the fraudulent listing. Typical weaponization of bureaucracy.

[Zema Bus]

This has kind of been off my radar, I have bigger fish to fry right now, but based on some reading I did in some Reddit threads what I suspect may be happening is either GoDaddy or someone they facilitate to do this lists domains for sale they don't own at a higher price than they are listed elsewhere. Then when they get a taker, they buy it from the real owner before completing the sell to their buyer, so they profit off the difference without the ongoing expense of holding these domains year after year. I've had that domain listed for sale for a number of years at Sedo for $1K, and GoDaddy is trying to sell it for $5K.

[Grogan]

Ahh, well, it's sleazy, but it's not really cheating anyone. At worst someone just doesn't get the domain they want to buy.

Do you still have control of the listing? If so, cause some trouble by raising the listing to $10K

[Zema Bus]

I thought about that, I do have control of my own listing