I received this email this morning. Can anyone advise me if this domain registration org is legitimate, and how I should answer this?

Dear Manager,

Asia Network is the company of internet services that the domain registration is one of the major online style of our service range. Now we have something need to confirm with you. We hope you to cooperate with us. On 2008-09-15, we received an application from one person named “Karl Fischer” who wants to apply the following domain names and internet brand:
1. Domain Name
adphoto.asia adphoto.sg adphoto.hk adphoto.ph
2. Internet Brand
adphoto

According to our investigation, we found that domain names have relevance to your company’s name and trademark, so we send this email for you to confirm it. We are dealing with this affair in these days, so we wish to get the confirmation and the assent of your company. If Karl Fischer doesn’t belong to your company and you don’t authorize him to register these domains, Pls contact with me asap in order to prevent some guy from abusing your trademarks and the company names.

In addition, I must state that we have time limited for one person or one company’s registration. It is just 15 days. If your company files doesn't resent within the time limited. We will unconditionally authorized the application of Karl Fischer.

In order to deal with this issue better,please let someone who is responsible for trademark or domain name contact me asap.
Thank you for your cooperate.

Best Regards,

Alex Young

Asia Network
Add:UNITS A&B 15/F NEICH TOWER 128 GLOUCESTER RD WANCHAI, HK
Tel: +852-3118 1808
Fax: +852-3187 5548
+852-3065 8189
Email:alex@asiaregistrar.org
Website: www.asiaregistrar.org

Hi Harvey,

Basically, the Karl Fischer guy wants to own the domains that you've listed. I think the one that you need to grab immediately is adphoto.ph. I'm betting that the guy is actually a cybersquatter, buying domains left and right and selling them off later.

You can buy the domain via your webhost anyway. As for the legitimacy of Alex Young and Asia Registrar, I actually don't know if he is a legitimate entity.

Either way, protect your internet presence.

Nin

I also got a similar email from domains4sale.com. I just looked it up in my mailbox. Some Filipino guy wanted to register ncarandang.net, ncarandang.us and ncarandang.org. I own http://www.ncarandang.com and they wanted to know if I wanted to buy the other domains before they give it to the buyer. Now, I feel it's an internet scam.

Nin

hello mrs harvey:

based on the format of the correspondence, it's likely that this is only a marketing gimmickry to get your business. the first thing i would advise you to do is contact your WEB HOST. this would be the company hosting your existing website. do inform them that receiving such correspondence from someone is making anxious that your domain registry might be nearing expiration or is already expired. make sure that they give you their assurance that the domain registry is up to date.

known domains, especially commercial ones are like sweet candies for the prowlers on the net. they snag those for one reason only - to make a quick buck!

good luck ma'am! and please, contact your host right away!

~rey

Adding to Nino's comment... domains are really cheap anyway, if your domain name is good, it's always best to just grab the .com, .net, .org, .ph (if you're based in phil) to lock them up.

I do think he's an domain squatter as well... It's very common to nab "similar yet different" domain names and sell them for a profit, happened to our .com before when we failed to renew it.

For example, if you head to godaddy.com and enter adphoto.com, you'll see that it's already taken by a certain:

CapitolDomains LLC Privacy Service (ADPHOTO-COM-DOM)
3109 Grand Avenue PMB 456
Coconut Grove, FL 33133
US
+1.8013064032
+1.8013064032
adphoto-comf01d26a3@capitoldomains-privacy-service.org

The .net is uber expensive as well.

If the .ph is still available, I strongly suggest you buy that since it's your local market that'll be vulnerable.

Yes, look at that issue of PLDT........ lessons learned, before you become big and rich, go get your domain name....... :)

Thanks, guys.

We registered adphoto.com.ph a long time ago when registration meant perpetual registration. It's registered with the Philippine company (is that the one owned by Disini?) that registers all .ph domains.

Our webhost is a different entity from where we registered our domain name.

To follow your advise, I will look into registering the adphoto.ph as another domain address.

Thanks again.
Harvey

Hi Harvey, register adphoto.ph, adphoto.net.ph, and adphoto.org.ph as well. That should ensure no one will misrepresent your company by sending prospective clients a phony website.

Unfortunately, Disini et al don't give away lifetime domains anymore. :(

ma'am harvey,

just a word of caution: we all basically 'rent' our web presence, so i would take the term 'perpetual' from your contract with a grain of salt. just make sure that your domain name rights stay with you :). it's not expensive............... until you have to buy it from somebody else!




Thanks, guys.

We registered adphoto.com.ph a long time ago when registration meant perpetual registration..............

We do have to pay dotPH everytime we changed webhosts.

My daughter sent me this link:

http://trusted.md/feed/items/system/2008/01/29/asia_domain_name_registration_scam

Apparently, the people doing this scam just rotate a few names. The "interested" buyer's name listed in the email to me - Karl Fischer - is the same used in other emails to other people for various other domain names.

He got me at hello, hehe.

I wasn't even done reading his first sentence and I felt something was wrong. It must be the terrible English. It reminds me too much of the hundreds of scam letters I have received since 1996. Best b careful.

Nathaniel

[quote=Harvey_Chua;482967]I received this email this morning. Can anyone advise me if this domain registration org is legitimate, and how I should answer this?

Dear Manager,

Asia Network is the company of internet services that the domain registration is one of the major online style of our service range. Now we have something need to confirm with you. We hope you to cooperate with us. On 2008-09-15, we received an application from one person named “Karl Fischer” who wants to apply the following domain names and internet brand:
1. Domain Name
adphoto.asia adphoto.sg adphoto.hk adphoto.ph
2. Internet Brand
adphoto

Hi Rey,

Ma'am Harvey is very correct. There was a time when you bought a domain and it was a lifetime domain - meaning not yearly like how it is now. If you do a "whois" on adphoto.com.ph you will see the ff:

Domain adphoto.com.ph
Organization Adphoto, Inc
Expiry Date Lifetime domain

ma'am harvey,

just a word of caution: we all basically 'rent' our web presence, so i would take the term 'perpetual' from your contract with a grain of salt. just make sure that your domain name rights stay with you :). it's not expensive............... until you have to buy it from somebody else!

Hi Rey,

Ma'am Harvey is very correct. There was a time when you bought a domain and it was a lifetime domain - meaning not yearly like how it is now. If you do a "whois" on adphoto.com.ph you will see the ff:

Domain adphoto.com.ph
Organization Adphoto, Inc
Expiry Date Lifetime domain

Thanks for the info, Randy. I didn't even know you could check it out that way. :)

Its just a couple of steps Ma'am Harvey. I often use it to "look for" non registered domain names.

For Philippine Domains, all those with a .ph in the end is registred thru domains.ph (http://www.domians.ph)

1. Go to www.domains.ph (http://www.domains.ph)
2. In the search field, type "adphoto" and in the .ph dropdown, change it to .com.ph
3. Click GO
4. You will see if the domain is taken or not. If it is taken, click the TAKEN link and a pop up will show who owns the site and the expiry.

For adphoto's case, it does not expire, digitalphotographer.com.ph though will expire on Feb 21 2010. (Nino C, look out for this, you don't want this sniped by someone else now...) ;)
Likewise, adphoto.ph is still available.

For other non .ph sites/domains, I use www.whois.net (http://www.whois.net)

:)