DNS BE have advised they have received several complaints of Belgian
business and organisations that own a domain name. They receive letters
asking them to pass on their company and website details, or to check
the details provided. Finally they are asked to sign and send the letter
back to the sender so that these details can be included in an online
business directory.
In their letters, examples of which are provided via the link below, the
internet registers or directories use visual and copy elements that
could easily be mistaken as being associated with official directory
and/or Internet providers in Belgium.
Those companies/organisations that fill in the details in the letter,
then sign and send it back to the sender do so assuming that they are
dealing with an official Belgian organisation. In actual fact, though,
they are signing a purchase order for their details to be included in
one or other online business "directory". Having signed on the dotted
line, as it were, they then receive an invoice and/or bank transfer
request for the cost of including their details in the directory.
DNS BE is advising individuals or businesses that receive letters or
registration forms of this kind to go through them very carefully before
sending back the signed form. Also, if they have any questions about
the management of their domain name, they should always get in contact
with their accredited, genuinely official, DNS BE registrar. A list of
the registrars can be found on the DNS BE website at www.dns.be.
These illegitimate business practices have happened in the past and an
overview can be found via the original DNS BE news release here - www.dns.be/en/home.php?n=448.
Click here for more information about .be domain registration.