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If I was Nike, or Kim Kardashian, I guess I'd get my attack dog lawyers to sort this one out for me, however I'm not.
I have basically been namesquatted, I have a domain name which is identical to my name. It hasn't been connected to an actual website in quite some time, however I still used it for my email, so that I could basically have a me@me.com email addy.
Apparently in China, a popular black hat tactic with company websites, is to set notifications on various small biz website names for if they become available. Then, once they do, you buy the name and stick a load of porn up under that url. Then blackmail the poor business owner into paying you to get the site back and save their reputation.
Anyway, for whatever reason, I didn't have that domain on auto renew, and was a week or so before I got round to renewing it (I check emails about once a fortnight, if that), I simply assumed that nobody would want my name, it's pretty unique, I've searched for other people with my name and have come up with one other person on the planet, and he spells it differently.
To cut a long story short, I discovered that some random dude in China had registered my domain through a Chinese registrar. I went to buy it back and the s.o.b. is trying to charge $200 for it, which I assume will be an annual fee.
I remembered @Walter Hay's advice about allowing a Chinese person to save face, so wrote a very polite letter in which I expressed my regret at not being able to afford to buy my own name back from him, hoping that he'd come back with a reasonable offer. He ignored my little missive, so I contacted the registrar directly and stated my case.
The registrar told me that he could not get hold of the guy either, and said that there was nothing he/she could do about it and gave me the email of some regulatory body whose name I can't remember. I wrote to them and they wrote back saying there was nothing they could do.
Anyway, Even though this is entirely my fault I feel pretty violated and sad about this one, I didn't think anyone would want to squat a complete nobody, with no actual website. So I'm just wondering if there's anyone else out there in TFF land who has had a similar experience and managed to resolve it successfully?
I have basically been namesquatted, I have a domain name which is identical to my name. It hasn't been connected to an actual website in quite some time, however I still used it for my email, so that I could basically have a me@me.com email addy.
Apparently in China, a popular black hat tactic with company websites, is to set notifications on various small biz website names for if they become available. Then, once they do, you buy the name and stick a load of porn up under that url. Then blackmail the poor business owner into paying you to get the site back and save their reputation.
Anyway, for whatever reason, I didn't have that domain on auto renew, and was a week or so before I got round to renewing it (I check emails about once a fortnight, if that), I simply assumed that nobody would want my name, it's pretty unique, I've searched for other people with my name and have come up with one other person on the planet, and he spells it differently.
To cut a long story short, I discovered that some random dude in China had registered my domain through a Chinese registrar. I went to buy it back and the s.o.b. is trying to charge $200 for it, which I assume will be an annual fee.
I remembered @Walter Hay's advice about allowing a Chinese person to save face, so wrote a very polite letter in which I expressed my regret at not being able to afford to buy my own name back from him, hoping that he'd come back with a reasonable offer. He ignored my little missive, so I contacted the registrar directly and stated my case.
The registrar told me that he could not get hold of the guy either, and said that there was nothing he/she could do about it and gave me the email of some regulatory body whose name I can't remember. I wrote to them and they wrote back saying there was nothing they could do.
Anyway, Even though this is entirely my fault I feel pretty violated and sad about this one, I didn't think anyone would want to squat a complete nobody, with no actual website. So I'm just wondering if there's anyone else out there in TFF land who has had a similar experience and managed to resolve it successfully?
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Juxiwis, og vji qesvz vjev qasdjeti vji funeop ot uavtofi vji AT us Iasuqi, vjisi xup'v ci nadj vjuti gumlt dep fu gus zua. Citv civ ot vu veli zuas manqt, gusl uwis vji $$ epf veli vjot gusxesf et e mittup miespif (cioph tasi vu tiv zuas funeop vu eavu sipix piyv voni).
