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other citystar resources:

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frequently asked questions
free java applets for your web site
information about domains
banner ad design and placement

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WARNING: Domains Are Being Hijacked!  

If your company owns a domain name (www.yourname.com), your domain is at risk! Domain names are being hijacked by unscrupulous companies. These companies may contact you by e-mail, postal mail, fax or phone. Several of CityStar's clients have already LOST CONTROL of their Web sites! If you have a question about ANY REQUEST or bill related to your domain name, PLEASE call us before proceeding.

(719) 559-1945
Outside of Colorado Springs call toll-free 1-877-788-0902

Example 1:  A CityStar customer received a phone call regarding her company's domain name. The caller told her that the domain was expiring soon, and that the caller's company could save her some money on the renewal. The CityStar customer gave the caller her credit card information and considered the matter closed. HOWEVER, the domain was not renewed, and soon went back into the available pool, where it was immediately registered by a third company. The CityStar customer found out that she had lost her company's domain when one of her friends called her to ask why her site was now an "adults only" (pornographic) site! The CityStar customer was then approached by the third party with an offer to sell the domain back to her for a minimum of $550!

Example 2:  A CityStar customer received an e-mail invoice indicating that his non-profit organization's domain was expiring. He paid the invoice, but found out later that the company had transferred his domain to a different registrar. In addition, the CityStar customer lost effective control of his domain when the soliciting company changed the e-mail address for the Administrative Contact on the domain record, and put themselves in the record as Billing Contact. The CityStar customer is now unable to make changes to his own domain record, and the company that took his money refuses to give him a password for control. The matter has been reported to the Better Business Bureau.

These solicitations are always made in such a way that they look like legitimate requests and/or invoices. The companies that are involved in these exploits are very good at what they do, and may appear very professional and confident. BEWARE!

If you have registered any domain names through Network Solutions (NSI), be on the lookout for letters purporting to warn you of an impending expiration of that domain, or a "special offer" to renew. At least one such letter recently sent out comes not from Network Solutions, but from a partner/reseller of Network Solutions. Said partner claims that "all NSI renewals must go through us", which is completely untrue.

The following statement has been issued by Network Solutions regarding the incident.

We received your message regarding the direct mail piece that either you or your customers may have received. We apologize for this incident and would like to offer an explanation. [Company] is a Network Solutions Alliance partner and we agreed to a co-branded renewal campaign with them. However, it was our understanding that this campaign was targeted to [Company] customers ONLY whose domain names were up for renewal.

Unfortunately, the message was sent to several WHOIS databases including NSI's that may have resulted in our partners or their customers receiving this renewal notice.

Please inform your customers to disregard this notice and that they may renew their domain name through NSI directly.

Please accept our sincere apology for this regrettable incident and our commitment to ensure this type of incident does not occur in the future.

Partner Relations Manager
Web Presence Group
VeriSign, Inc

Although this is just the most recent such incident, many other such "offers" have gone out in the past, either by post, e-mail, or fax. Be wary of anything you receive, and if you aren't sure what it is, ask your registrar.

If your domain name is up for renewal, payments can be made at the original registrar's Web site. The following Web site can be used to find out when your domain name will expire.

http://www.citystar.com/whois.htm

Domain names with any registrar may be renewed through that registrar, or transferred to a new registrar, at your discretion.

To get more information about this problem, PLEASE CALL the Support Department at CityStar Online.

(719) 559-1945
Outside of Colorado Springs call toll-free 1-877-788-0902

parting shot

We want to hear your feedback using our feedback form at http://www.citystar.com/survey.htm. Please contact us if you have a topic you'd like to see covered here. Links to back issues of this newsletter can be found at the bottom of this page. Till next time...

Warm Regards,
Artie Romero 
CityStar Group, Inc.

back issues of citystar web marketing news:

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