Australian spammers plunder net names

By ADAM GIFFORD

Attempts by New Zealand domain name registry Domainz to shut out Australian spammers Internet Registry proved short-lived, as the company shifted to a .com address.

Internet Registry has a similar methodology to fellow Melbourne company Internet Name Group, which is under investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Both companies have a copy of the Domainz' "Whois" database of .co.nz name owners, which they cross-referenced against the .com database.

They then contact name owners to tell them that the www."yourname".com name is unregistered, and invite them to pay an inflated sum to register it.

Domainz chief executive Derek Locke said using the Whois database for this sort of commercial activity breached Domainz rules.

"These people are scumbags. They are preying on people's fears and technical ignorance."

While some companies may have commercial reasons for buying up their name or trademark in multiple domains, most .nz nameholders only want or need the one address.

If they want to buy other addresses, competition among legitimate .nz registrars means they can do so for as little as $29.95.

Internet Registry sent out a spam email to its database last Wednesday inviting .nz nameholders to go to www.internetregistry.co.nz to register the corresponding .com name for $198 for a two-year period.

On Thursday Domainz removed the site because the company was in breach of the Whois rules.

"They threatened us with all sorts of law suits, but we haven't heard anything from any lawyers yet," Locke said.

"We also complained to the Commerce Commission, which says it wants to work with the ACCC on this."

Early yesterday morning Internet Registry re-sent the spam, pointing to www.internetregistrynz.com.

Locke said Domainz was not able to shut down a .com-registered site.

Internet Registry claims to be physically based in the 16th floor of the ASB Centre in Auckland.

But the Australian who answered the 0800 line yesterday was not aware it was a public holiday in New Zealand. Identifying herself only as Sally, she said the .co.nz address was down because of "server problems".

She refused to give a contact number for managing director David Critchley, saying it was company policy he could be contacted only by fax or email.

Critchley did not call back.

The Internet Registry site advertises all domains, including .co.nz, for a minimum two years.

Sally said this minimum was also "company policy".

Locke said .nz names could only be registered for 12 months.

That might not worry Sally, Critchley and Internet Registry.

According to the terms of service on its website, on accepting an order for domain registration, "Internet Registry acts only to apply for renewal of the registration when required and takes no responsibility if ... the relevant registrar fails to renew the domain name."

If clients try to cancel an order, they will incur a $100 fee.

Locke said Internet Name Group is back in the New Zealand market, faxing firms with what looks like an invoice giving them 48 hours to register the .com variation for "only $125".

He said ING had promised a federal court in Melbourne in April it would not imply it had a pre-existing relationship with a person by such ploys such as describing its notices as "Renewal Advices" or inviting people to "confirm" a renewal.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Domainz