Frauded; domain name hijacked..?

monokitty · Feb 13th, 2003, 04:53 PM

My site and email was down more than a week ago, and apparently, my host that was hosting my site, along with loads of others, quit the business without any type of nodification head of time, and hijacked my domain name, www.macupgradezone.com with him. The company site, along with my site, refuses to load. All company emails have stopped working, and the owner has pulled all contact info off. I'm asking here what you guys think I should do.

He has all my CREDIT CARD information w/numbers and hijacked my domain name, so I can no longer use it. Over the past 2 months, I was charged over $25.00 for fees I didn't owe - to my credit card, from his other apparent company, and then thereafter illegally hijhacked my domain name and my files uploaded.

I'm thinking of reporting fraud and theft of files and domain names to the police. Thoughts?

used to be jwoodget · Feb 13th, 2003, 05:14 PM

That stinks Lars. I would think you are in a good position to contact the internet fraud squad of the RCMP but you'd be in a better position if other site owners that were hosted on the same server company joined you in the complaint (but you may not know who they are). If the site name is registered to you (via InterNIC etc.) then as long as you keep the subscription fee current, it is still yours. You just have to notify them to point to a new IP address. Hopefully you backed up the site to a remote disk...

I'd recommend contacting another hosting company and asking their advice. They should be more than happy to accommodate you (if you are paying). You may as well write off the $25 though (you're lucky it wasn't more). Also contact your credit card company and to stop future payments to the sister company. The fact that they have your card number should not allow them to debit payments without your permission.

It's not uncommon to have this happen, by the way, especially with the cheaper vendors.

Good luck.

P.S. I'm no lawyer so the above is merely my personal opinion

jfpoole · Feb 13th, 2003, 05:41 PM

jfpoole@anirog:~$ whois -h whois.enom.com macupgradezone.com
Registration Service Provided By: DH International
Contact: domreg@cheaphostonline.net
Visit: http://www.cheaphostonline.com

Domain name: macupgradezone.com

Registrant :
JM Music
Jimmy Myhrman (jimmy.m@home.se)
+1.0703276918
FAX: none
Gibraltargatan 80
Gothenburg, 41279
SE

Administrative :
DH International
DH International (domreg@cheaphostonline.net)
425-226-4778
FAX: 425-226-4779
212 Wells Ave S
Suite D
Renton, WA 98055
US

Billing :
DH International
DH International (domreg@cheaphostonline.net)
425-226-4778
FAX: 425-226-4779
212 Wells Ave S
Suite D
Renton, WA 98055
US

Technical :
DH International
DH International (domreg@cheaphostonline.net)
425-226-4778
FAX: 425-226-4779
212 Wells Ave S
Suite D
Renton, WA 98055
US

Status: PROTECTED
Note: To help prevent malicious domain hijacking and domain
transfer errors, the registrar has protected the registrant
of this domain name registrant by locking it. Any attempted
transfers will be denied at the registry until the registrant
requests otherwise. The registrant for the name may unlock
the name at any time at the current registrar in order for
a transfer initiation to succeed

Name servers:
NS4A.DNSWITHUS.COM
NS4B.DNSWITHUS.COM

Creation date: 2002-08-29 17:20:37
Expiration date: 2003-08-29 17:20:58

The data in this whois database is provided to you for information
purposes only, that is, to assist you in obtaining information about or
related to a domain name registration record. We make this information
available "as is," and do not guarantee its accuracy. By submitting a
whois query, you agree that you will use this data only for lawful
purposes and that, under no circumstances will you use this data to: (1)
enable high volume, automated, electronic processes that stress or load
this whois database system providing you this information; or (2) allow,
enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass unsolicited,
commercial advertising or solicitations via direct mail, electronic
mail, or by telephone. The compilation, repackaging, dissemination or
other use of this data is expressly prohibited without prior written
consent from us. The registrar of record is eNom. We reserve the right
to modify these terms at any time. By submitting this query, you agree
to abide by these terms.
Version 6.3 4/3/2002

Capucine · Feb 14th, 2003, 04:53 PM

Lars,

I sympathize with you tremendously, I had to help a client of ours with their domain name transfer from Netsol to a more dependable (and responsible) registrar, and with all the trouble, it might as well have been hijacked by Netsol themselves!

My company does hosting and we've had to deal with a few similar situations, give me a call and perhaps I can give you a few pointers on what you should do in a situation such as this...

First thing first though -- Call your credit card company IMMEDIATELY and explain that this company is making unauthorized charges to your card and for them to deny any and all current and future charges by this company, as well as the other company name they were using. They will start an investigation into the matter and you should be protected; however, do not delay, as you generally only have 30 days from the time the charge was first made to your card to act.

Give me a call on my toll-free line, you'll find it in my sig line. (I should be working late in the office this evening, so you should be able to catch me..) Hope I can help you...

Respectfully,

Capucine Plourde

CEO / Creative Director, Native Design Services
Affordable Graphics, Print and Website Development
http://www.native.ca - capucine@native.ca
Toll-free (Canada/US): 1-888-828-9355

monokitty · Feb 14th, 2003, 05:16 PM

"Call your credit card company IMMEDIATELY and explain that this company is making unauthorized charges to your card and for them to deny any and all current and future charges by this company, as well as the other company name they were using."

In progress -- credit card access denied from CheapHostOnline, DH EnterPrise. Now the problem is getting back my domain name with NO contact information left from the company.

Capucine · Feb 15th, 2003, 05:19 PM

In brief, your next steps are to contact the registrars concerned to prove that you were the original registrant and that you were hijacked.

Find any email receipts or screencaptures you have of any payment details regarding the last time you paid for the domain. Also which registrar it was done through. You will need this info in order to prove your case.

I won't lie to you, it won't be easy to reclaim your domain, but it CAN usually be done, as long as you have some persistance and determination in the matter.

I was going to email you privately, but the email you have listed on your profile is still your old email, which you said you are no longer able to receive anything through...

Drop me a line, or give me a call, OK?

monokitty · Feb 15th, 2003, 05:42 PM

Yes; email me at lars@thinkmacintosh.com . That's my secondary email account which is still active and checked often now.

Thanks!