"Theft" of domain name from one of my buyers

Deleted member 2020 · Apr 9, 2003

I acquired the domain name osp.org with a snapnames 8 months ago and sold it 6 weeks later, transferring it after the 60 day no-transfer period had finished.

The new owner has just told me that when he went to change the DNS recently, he found he no longer had access to the domain, and on checking up, it had been transferred to another registrar and the new owner was the person/company who had not renewed it 9 months ago.

To date, the purchaser's registrar has not given an explanation of how the domain was transferred without the purchaser?s authorization.

The registrar of the "original owner", says they have held the domain name since May 2002, which is clearly not the case, as I won it with a snap and it was subsequently transferred via a registrar transfer to the purchaser.

I have suggested that the purchaser keeps pushing his own registrar for an explanation of how the domain name was transferred without his permission. And if adequate clarification of this point can be obtained, it will presumably help in recovering the domain.

In the mean time, does anyone have any comments on what they think might have happened and how the purchaser can recover what (presumably) is rightfully his.

This could of course happen to any of us and or our clients, although locking a domain etc. can help reduce the possibility of such losses.

Many thanks.

Anthony Ng · Apr 9, 2003

Mind naming names here: who are those registrars involved?

domains · Apr 9, 2003

I was just about to post the same thing. Would you mind letting us know what registrars were involved...so we can avoid them! Thanks.

Deleted member 2020 · Apr 9, 2003

"losing" registrar: totalregistrations.com

"winning" registrar: Sponsoring Registrar: Key-Systems GmbH d/b/a domaindiscount24.com (R51-LROR)

I can't actually find the registrant whois information at domaindiscount24.com. It just gives the PIR information, as though they weren't the actual registrars, which is a bit strange.

The domain name still has the same expiry day/month as when I originally acquired it, but with a date now in 2005.

DomainPairs · Apr 9, 2003

I picked up a domain recently from a drop list. A few days afterwards I was approached by a hosting company asking if I would sell the name to one of their clients. I responded asking if they had a price in mind for the name. All very normal so far!

I didn't get a reply to my email, but a few days later I got a transfer request for the name. Presumably if I had made any reply to this, it could have been taken as acceptance of the transfer and I'd lose the name. Maybe this is the new tryon for forgetful owners.

Deleted member 2020 · Apr 15, 2003

I just received an e-mail from my purchaser in which his registrar said that the transfer to the other registrar was "initiated in error" and that it has been transferred back to its rightful owner.

It's good news that the other party didn't "get away with it", and that the "theft" could be reversed.