Sometime last year, we saw those letters from “Domain Name Group” (domainnamegroup.com.au) inviting us to register the .net.au version of our domain names at A$245 for two years.

We did not even bother to give those invitation letters a second look as (a) the prices quoted are way out of this world (5 times higher than what others are charging), (b) we did not find the need to register the .net.au version of our domains, and (c) we are no great fan of the “free iPod shuffle” which according to the invitation comes with the two year registration.

Now after almost two years, we are still receiving those letters in our mailbox. Quickly checking what others think about these invitation letters, Google spilled out hundreds of thousands of pages on our search keyphrase “domainnamegroup.com.au.”

Their verdict? The operation of “Domain Name Group” is a scam.

Here are some comments written about this scam:

The letter is made to look very much like an invoice with a tear off tab below for easy payment and all.

It has your company name up the top as if you are a client of theirs and also a reference number too so you think you are on their books.

They make it sound as if you need to register this domain name which is, for instance a .net.au variation of your existing domain (.com.au). The price is $245 for 2 years!!! A real bargain. Source: Domain Name Group – Be Warned

I take pity on the general public. How would the average Joe Blow realise that this letter is not what it first looks like? The more I look the more obvious it is; but in an office environment I’m certain a quick glance and processing by a non-technical person will pay out most times. Source: domainnamegroup.com.au is a scam

This group is sending out invoices for payment of domain registration for a .net.au version of their .com.au domains. The invoice appears as a renewal invoice for the original domain name, and is misleading customers with a call to action to pay for the domain registration by offering an iPod if paid by a particular date.

This group harvested postal address information belonging to ACN/ABN owners of the .com.au domain equivalents. The way the group acquired the addresses was simply by searching public Whois database for .au domains, and then used the ACN/ABN details to search for the postal address details via other available online resources. Source: Warning: Domain Registration Scam from “Domain Name Group Pty Ltd” – July 2010

Our advice: If you receive this type of invitation letter from Domain Name Group, chuck it in the bin.