NetworkSolutions, one of the original ICANN registrars, is running a phishing style domain name scam that boggles my mind.
It seems they're internally registering EACH and EVERY domain name that a user searches for using their website, essentially holding it hostage so that it can't be bought at any other vastly cheaper and more ethical domain registrar. This is alarming since it's estimated that their company name is searched for around 1754 times per day on the big three search engines Google, Yahoo and MSN. (Source: SEOToolSet Search Term: "NetworkSolutions")
Network Solutions puts a 4 day lock on all domain names searched on their site. They're effectively using phishing techniques to hijack or steal domain names and forcing domain name registrants to register their names at Network Solutions. I decided to put them to the test so that I could verify the scam.
The following screen shots tell the story of what happened within 5 minutes of searching for them on their site:
continued...(Click Images to Enlarge Them)
I searched for 2 domains for "ScamBustersIsGreat" and "ScamBustersRocks"
Notice their special "Buy It Now" price of ONLY $34.95 per year! (Yeah, right...)
The same domains at Name.com barely 5 minutes later when I searched for them.
A WhoIs lookup reveals that NetworkSolutions is the registered owner of the domains that I originally searched for, thus confirming the scam.
Conclusion:
My suggestion is that there should be an immediate boycott on NetworkSolutions in response to this outrageous flim-flam. Vote with your dollar.
Get the word out on every blog and forum so that they see the results of trying to hijack unsuspecting prospects. If we all do a little to put an end to this con, economics will do the rest.
Why would NetworkSolutions do this to their prospective customers?
One can only speculate. The margins on domains have dropped dramatically as evidenced by the Name.com screenshot. $5.99 versus $34.95 with around $10 per year being the norm.
I can only assume that it's an act of desperation. Nobody in their right mind would pay that ludicrous price if they knew the truth and this obviously just a way to try to keep a flagging business from failing.
At any rate, the best advice as usual is to do a little research before committing yourself to one company and not assume that because they're a big name that they have the best price or the best morals.
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