Is Your Domain Name Being Challenged?

[Phyllis]

Here's something that's probably a scam--I received an email through the contact page on my website, with a challenge for my domain name. My site, www.ScifiAliens.com, is hosted by American Authors, a professional company that specializes in author sites. Getting a domain name was their suggestion and they purchased and registered it on my behalf.

The challenge is from China. They suggested I registered the dot coms and various other configurations through China (they could let me know how to complete the forms, etc.) Their 'threat' was that a trading company in China wanted the scifialiens domain name and they would be obliged to register it for them unless I could beat them to it.

American Authors assures me that everything is in order and my domain name is fully protected. I've forwarded all the emails to them.

I pointed out that their Chinese customers might accidentally end up on my site, with repercussions for them since I promote free thinking and personal freedoms. Chinese authorities will be particularly alert for 'trouble' since it's the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in June.

If they were legitimate they should have lost all interest in scifialiens right then and there. Instead, there was another email saying the time had run out and they'll be allowing the Chinese trading company to use it for their domain.

I've blogged about the issue on www.scifialiens.wordpress.com if anyone has further interest in the details. I was wondering if other writers have had similar experiences.

[Rita]

Your blog won't open up in IE. It doesn't recognize the URL.

[Phyllis]

Sorry about that. I tested the link before I posted and it seemed okay. You can also go to WordPress.com and search for ScifiAliens. Let me know if that works.

[Gwendolyn]

The devil is always in the details.

They can always apply to use the same name but with a "dot net", "dot org", "dot biz", "dot info" or "dot asia" because those domain names are as yet unclaimed.