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Message received via e-mail, post or fax from an unknown company asking me to settle payment for a domain name
A number of registrars are known to engage in a practice known as "domain slamming", intended either to take over the domain in question or simply to make money off your back. Among these: Brandon Gray Internet Services, NameJuice.com, Domain Renewal Group and Global Netsource. In addition, a number of Asian companies are listed here.
The company Domain Registrar of America (DROA) also aims to scam domain name owners by sending them a fax or e-mail for the renewal of one or more domain names two or three months before these are due to expire. This offer appears official and professional and offers extremely competitive prices.
The catch: by signing, you agree to transfer your domain names to this registrar, with all of the associated risks of your web sites and e-mails being de-activated. Needless to say, you are encouraged to pay by credit card! This company has been subject to lawsuits in the USA, UK and Canada but remains extremely active in Europe.
Actions to be carried out
You need to determine who is sending you such a message... Is it a company that you know, are they writing to you from Switzerland or France, in French, etc.? or conversely, is it an e-mail in English coming from abroad (USA, United Kingdom, Jamaica, Asia, etc.)? You must also determine what the status of your domain name is, or where it currently resides (to do so, begin by performing a whois sur www.who.is).
Above all, do not follow up such e-mails: move them to your trash folder to avoid paying astronomical fees unnecessarily.
More information
AFNIC Guide to slamming and other scams