Domain Registry of Canada Scam

For as long as we've been in web design, we've been dealing with the Domain Registry of Canada and their scam letters. 

If you receive one of these letters, do not act on it. 

These letters are a misleading marketing ploy designed to scare you. They try and manipulate the reader into thinking the Domain Registry of Canada is some kind of government authority, when in reality, it is not.

Why do we think the Domain Registry of Canada should be considered scammers? Here are five reasons:

1. The letter comes in a brown envelope.

Letters that come in brown envelopes are often important. It is not uncommon to receive bills and important notices in brown envelopes. This is not a bill. They are presenting themselves as the authority on domains in Canada. They are not. 

2. The letter makes you think you have missed a payment.  

The letter directly mimics a bill. Despite the somewhat hidden “This notice is not a bill” in the middle of the text, every other element of this letter would make you think it is a bill. Their goal with this is to try and make the reader panic, fill out the form, and send it back.

3. The letter was not requested. 

The letter sent from the Domain Registry of Canada was not requested. It would be the same as if we went to our competitors’ clients and sent them an order form telling them their services will expire soon and they need to renew with us. They simply look at a group of domains, find the owner of the website, punch it into their database and mail them an order form. 

4. The letter uses false language.

By making the reader think they must renew their domain through the Domain Registry of Canada to maintain it, they invoke fear. They fail to mention to the reader that their current domain provider can ensure their domain renews, and in most cases, no action is required by the domain owner.

5. The letter is unethical. 

If you were to call a senior citizen and use the language below in order to get them to buy something, you would be considered a scammer.

We are calling out the Domain Registry of Canada and asking them to be a business of integrity. Stop sending out these scam letters to domain owners.  

Below is a sample letter.

If you receive one of these letters, do not respond to it. The best place for it is the recycling.