Warning issued over dot-eu fraud

20-09-2002

by Andrew McLindon

Companies have been warned not to fall for a 'scam' involving the pre-registration of the new dot-eu (.eu) domain name.

UK-based domain name registrar, Internetters, has warned that "Internet fraudsters" have been attempting to trick people out their money by offering to reserve .eu domain names months in advance of the registry for the Top Level Domain (TLD) being set-up.

Ken Sorrie, co-founder and director, Internetters, told ElectricNews.Net that this amounts to fraudulent behaviour because the rules by which this registry will operate have yet to be fully defined.

"The .eu TLD has been agreed, but nothing else. It may be many months, possibly over a year, before a registry is established, and its regulations and pricing structure put in place. It would be very reckless for anyone to pre-register for a .eu domain and part with their money until those issues are resolved," commented Sorrie.

Currently, several companies are offering to pre-register/reserve .eu domain names. One site, for instance, says that for EUR39 it will accept .eu pre-registrations (reservations). "As soon as the TLD .eu is available, we will pass on your registration to the responsible registrar and will try to secure your domain," it says.

The service says it cannot guarantee a domain registration and if not successful, the customer can apply for another domain free of charge. It does not mention anything in its terms of business about refunding the EUR39 if the original pre-registered domain name can't be secured.

In addition, Sorrie charged that many of the companies offering this pre-registration service may not be in existence by the time the registry is eventually set-up. "If you look at the addresses of some of these business, they tend to be based in a country well outside Europe and are uncontactable by phone. There is no guarantee that they will be still be around when .eu domains can actually be registered," he remarked.

Another problem with pre-registering without knowing the registry's rules, said Sorrie, is that it may introduce a restrictive regime. "For instance, in many European countries such as Spain, France and Ireland, certain conditions have to meet before you can receive a country-code domain. The same might happen with the .eu registry, which could mean, for example, that companies might only be able to have a .eu domain that matches the exact name on their incorporation forms."

Although the exact rules and regulations surrounding the distribution of .eu domain names have yet to be decided, the European Commission has previously said that certain restrictions will definitely be enforced to avoid abusive or speculative registrations.

These will include an initial phased introduction of names in order to give trademark holders the right to apply for names they are legally entitled to, this is usually called the "sunrise" period. While public bodies will also have the opportunity to register their names in advance of the general public

Indeed, the Commission has already issued a warning about the perils of pre-registering a .eu domain. "Given the risks for confusion, pre-registration services are not recommended by the Commission. In any case, consumers and companies are encouraged to check exactly what is and what is not being offered," said the Commission in a statement.