Domain Appraisal Scam via mass e-mail

[maestro1d]

Long time domainer, first time post here at DNF... Tried this at news section, no post as of yet, so maybe more it's more apropo here...

Hey all.

Since I just joined as a Platinum member, thought I'd provide something in my first post instead of asking a question etc.

So here goes... a warning:

Some of you may have seen this e-mail SCAM going around last few days...You get an e-mail from someone like G...Lopez@gmail etc, claiming they want to buy one of your domains for 65% of market price.

All you have to do is provide them with an appraisal from one of the two "leading" firms they will accept appraisals from, which they list as:

FlyRating.com
Sedo.com

Now, of course, most domainers have heard of Sedo, and their appraisals. But, hey- people are anxious to sell that domain, so they start looking into appraisals at both... and would'nt you know it. The appraisals at the industry "leader" flyrating.com happen to be a few bucks cheaper.

You want the sale, but hey- let's save a few bucks and go with FlyRating right? BEEEEEEEP (that was a loud alarm buzzer you just heard)...

OK, here is my OPINION only folks (wink):

Flyrating, you guys are completely fulla hooey- and again, only an OPINION here that of course FLYRATING is responsible (or one of their associates) for sending these e-mails. How many thousands of folks are being duped into a so called "appraisal" right now? Who knows. Maybe some newbs who never heard of either company will actually buy an "appraisal" from Flysh*t.com.

Contacted SEDO- they say this is going around like crazy right now and they are offering refunds to anyone who requests an appraisal for domains from them because of these e-mails.

Of course, that's what I would expect from a reputable, actual industry leader like SEDO with an ALEXA rank of 2,578 and 35,690 incoming links... as opposed to FlyCra*p with their 1,053,721 rating and NO, ZERO, NADA incoming links.

This is a bait and switch scam in a different dress folks- a little bit of truth using a reputable company name as a fly in the ointment. DON'T blow your money on an appraisal you don't currently need from a reputable firm. And whatever you do... I certainly would'nt buy one from these other shmucks. I'd be surprised if you actually got an appraisal back at all- or one that's actually worth anything.

A little background on this "industry leader". Here's some partial records from WHOIS (records obscured for posting reasons- check WHOIS if needed):

DNS:
ns1.ezydomain.com
ns2.ezydomain.com

Created: 2009-05-27 02:01:07
Expires: 2010-05-27 02:01:07
Last Modified: 2009-05-27 01:52:22

Registrant Contact:
xxxxxxx Sdn Bhd
xxxxxxx Outlook Sdn Bhd (xxxxxx@whoisprotection.cc)
xxxxxxxx (East Wing) Berjaya Times Square, No.1, Jalan Imbi
Kuala Lumpur, xxxxx, Malaysia xxxxx
P: +603.2149xxxx F: +603.2143xxxx

(same admin, billing etc)

Oh hey- they are based outta Malaysia. Hmmm... but there site is in English, and seems like it's from US, UK, right?... Hmmm.....

OH, and hey- this industry leader registered their domain on MAY 27, 2009- wow... they became an industry leader REALLY quickly.

Oh yeah, BTW- the original e-mailer never gets back to anyone- so, you get a nice shiny appraisal, from a company with a nice shiny FLASH website, and there is no domain sale of course.

BEWARE!

Hope this helps a few folks out there...

[snicksnack]

I think there are at least 5-10 new appraisal scam websites every week. Still must be working for them, otherwise they would start popping up left and right

[sweetboa]

I get the same email,

hehe

[maestro1d]

Originally Posted by snicksnack

I think there are at least 5-10 new appraisal scam websites every week. Still must be working for them, otherwise they would start popping up left and right

Yeah, I hear ya SnickSnack. I thought as much- I get a lot of Phishing attempts- first time I have seen one of these appraisal scam e-mails. Bozos.

You're right- they must be raking it in though.

[draggar]

Originally Posted by snicksnack

I think there are at least 5-10 new appraisal scam websites every week. Still must be working for them, otherwise they would start popping up left and right

You're quite the optimist. (I'd think it is more than that) but you are right - it is probably still working for them since they keep on coming out - I'm willing to bet a lot of them are the same people just changing their tune every now and then to make them look like a different entity.

[maestro1d]

Originally Posted by draggar

You're quite the optimist. (I'd think it is more than that) but you are right - it is probably still working for them since they keep on coming out - I'm willing to bet a lot of them are the same people just changing their tune every now and then to make them look like a different entity.

Hey Draggar. Thanks for chiming in.

Just checked out your blog, left ya a DIGG post. You are now at 2 Diggs for your Blog. I know, I know... party time. That's how I roll.

Totally agree with your sentiments, BTW on finance-politics, people skills and tech.

Talk again soon

-D