Cutting Edge Computing

This is the Best Scam I Have Ever Seen July 1, 2021

Today I received a paper bill, to my home address, to renew my primary domain (I own five others), petervarhol.com, for the next year for the sum of $228.

Problem.  I own this domain through Register.com, and it is already paid for through the next year.  I looked it up, and contacted Register, and they confirmed.

The bill is very professionally done, even offering payment by credit card (yeah, right) and including a return address envelope (no stamp though).

I do believe this is the first time I have been disconcerted by a scam.  I suppose it’s possible for a scammer to get my home address, using a combination of whois and generally available address databases.  I wonder how many people would simply pay the bill, believing that it was simply a renewal notice, albeit an expensive one.

This one was scary, because of the seeming legitimacy of a bill on paper (yes, I am of that generation), and my dependency on this domain for my life activities.

So, fair warning.  Don’t fall for something that looks like the bills we get on a regular basis.  If it doesn’t pass the smell test, it may just be an increasingly sophisticated scam.