An advocate is calling for changes to how businesses acquire .co.nz domains. Photo / Getty Images
An advocate is calling for changes to how businesses acquire .co.nz domains. Photo / Getty Images
The chief executive of e-commerce platform Buy Kiwi is calling on the Government to change the regulations for businesses trying to obtain a .co.nz domain name.
Jamie Farmer believes overseas companies are exploiting current rules to obtain New Zealand digital identities to mislead consumers, warning it could potentially be costingour economy billions of dollars annually.
“Unlike countries such as Australia, where com.au domains require proof of local business registration, New Zealand’s domain system is open to anyone with an email address and credit card," Farmer said.
“This provides easy access for potential scammers to exploit .co.nz domains and create a perception of New Zealand association, sometimes within hours."
Scam websites claiming to be locally owned businesses have grown in presence recently, with a number scamming Kiwi consumers out of hundreds of dollars.
Jamie Farmer, chief executive of Buy Kiwi, is calling for changes to how .co.nz domain names are issued, and says we need to match the rest of the world.
According to a survey conducted by Buy Kiwi, 84% of New Zealanders have been duped by overseas-owned businesses masquerading behind .co.nz domains.
Adding to that statistic, 85% of those surveyed believed .co.nz domains should be restricted to NZ-owned businesses only.
Farmer thinks it’s currently too easy for scammers to replicate sites with similar names, believing they only exist to disrupt competition and create confusion for consumers.
“What our survey shows and not surprisingly is we’re team players. We want to support New Zealand first,” Farmer added.
“The .co.nz should symbolize things about trust, good business, and the New Zealand brand.”
Buy Kiwi’s survey showed that 98% of Kiwis preferred to purchase from NZ-owned businesses when price and product are the same.
Wider scam problem
Buy Kiwi has written to the Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Andrew Bayly, alongside a petition set to be delivered to parliament.
Farmer said changes to the regulation could be an “easy win” for the Government, as it would ensure transparency not only from businesses wanting to trade here but for consumers looking to buy, especially heading into the festive trading period.
“I think today if you want to know if someone’s a Kiwi business, the only way to be certain is to go to the company’s register, unfortunately.”
Farmer confirmed he has spoken with the minister’s office, with Minister Bayly telling the Herald he needed more information on the issue, but would look into it further as part of his new role.
Minister Bayly was recently appointed the lead minister on anti-scam issues and said he will bring together industry and government partners to work on combatting online scams.
“Kiwis lost nearly $200 million to scammers in the last year,” Bayly said.
“Considering estimates suggest that only one in five scams are reported, the real losses to New Zealanders are significantly higher.”
As we head into the festive trading season, Farmer is urging consumers to think about their purchases and where that money goes.
“If every Kiwi household diverted just $50 per week from overseas companies to New Zealand-owned businesses, it would inject more than $5 billion per year back into our local economy.”
He reiterated that shopping with New Zealand-owned businesses means you’re automatically covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act, giving you clear rights and protections, something not necessarily guaranteed if the business is foreign-owned.
Buy Kiwi surveyed 1074 New Zealand consumers via social media and email campaigns during October and November 2024.
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business and retail.
