Well, it finally happened. You may have heard, or been the target of, a very popular domain registration scam that has been going around for some time. It's the email you get that says, "so-and-so is about to register [insert some derivation of your legitimately registered domain here]. Act now and we will register it in your name for [insert absorbinant price here]."
It appears this scam has been lucrative enough to warrant taking it to the next level. We received a phone call today from a real person running this exact scam. I couldn't believe it.
I guess I always assumed a big part of the email version of the scam was automated. Their close rate much be much higher than expected if they are going to start employing phone banks of people to run it.
If you receive one of these communication, stay calm, write down what domain names are in question, and quietly ask yourself, "do I really care if someone else owned these directed them at porn sites?" If the answer is yes, go ahead and register them as you usually would through GoDaddy, NetSol, etc. They are still available and you can purchase them yourself.
It is a good idea to protect your brand with some coverage that goes beyond your primary domain name. I would certainly buy other top level domains (TLDs) that match your primary domain. For instance my primary domain is jasonbedell.com but I also own jasonbedell.org, jasonbedell.net, jasonbedell.us, and jasonbedell.biz.
If you really want to be covered, you can register the most common misspellings of your primary domain. This site feels kind of spammy but you can try the Type Generator - Misspelled Domains tool to help identify what they are. You can also check out the FTC's position on the issue here.
In the end, they will always be able to find a derivation of your domain, that is not registered, to threaten you with. You have to draw a line somewhere in terms of far you want to go with covering your primary domain.
Anyways, watch out, out there. Fight the fear tactic. And good luck.
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