The Domain World seen by ItalianDragon

As I wrote in the past weeks about scammers and how they are doing their dirty business, again another victim popped in at NamePros.com. He accused Pool.com of “lack of efficiency” because he lost a domain due to the fact that he bought it from a scammer who got this domain previously from Pool.com , then did a chargeback after selling the name to the victim. As I already covered this subject, scammers can do the chargebacks even 2 months after the purchase date and this leaves companies like Pool out of ways to protect a future buyer which is not buying from Pool but from an unknown individual…at his own risk.

Richard Schreier, CEO of POOL.com replied with these very useful advices:

Hi All, I am the CEO at Pool and can shed some light on this situation. First, as joecanadian pointed out, we do a thorough check on credit card purchases including verifying the CVV (which means the purchaser must have the card since the CVV is usually on the back). At certain billing threshold we also require what we call a billing authorization which includes providing photoID. It’s very difficult to get sometimes but we usually won’t process a sale if we don’t feel comfortable with the purchaser. We also verify things like IP address and a number of other things that I won’t discuss in public for obvious reasons. You should note as well that when a domain is registered at a new registrar, as it is when it arives at Pool, it is locked for transfer for 60 days (ICANN rules). Which provides us a bit of protection. What happens in these cases is we do all the verification we can and then within 2 weeks, the REAL credit card holder calls and says someone has used their card fraudulently and they are charging back the transaction. The credit card companies have no sympathy in these situations, they almost always side with the card holder. So, how can you protect yourself from these scammers? Here are a few ideas. First, if they only just got the name themselves (check the whois data) then you might question why they are flipping it so quickly? Yes, domain names are in great demand and appreciate but you wouldn’t think to get a good return on investment in just a few days. Second, consider asking for all the information that we would ask for to confirm their identity and use that information to contact them directly. If they are a legitimate seller you would think they would be willing to establish direct contact. And that would include a phone number. At least with a phone number you have some recourse although these guys can always buy temporary mobile phones. Third, use a reputable third party to broker the deal and insist that identities are verified. Fourth, ask for the domain history. Who did they buy it from and when. And then perhaps you can follow up with the previous owner just to make sure they were in fact the owner and conducted a legitimate sale. On our case, for example, Pool can verify how long the account has been a customer and if we notice a “quick flip” we can investigate as well. Believe me it is to all our advantage that we stop some of these guys. The unfortunate part of the message is that the legal authorities are not much help. We launched an investigation on one similar occasion that was a much bigger use of fraudulent data and we got nowhere in catching the guy. So, the best offence is indeed a good defence! Buyer beware, and do some homework before you write the cheque.

This is just right, be aware of who wants to sell in a rush!