Has your company gotten a letter in the mail recently informing you that your domain name is expiring and asking you to switch to the domain name service that they’re providing? If so, you’re likely the target of an attempted domain hijacking.

This is serious business, so it’s important that you be able to successfully identify the characteristics of a hijacking and take the proper steps to avoid falling for their trap.

Be on the Lookout

“Domain hijacking” is basically a fancy way of saying that someone stole your domain registration, which is never good. If an unauthorized source has the rights to your domain name, that means they have access to your domain registrar account details and can alter the personal, technical, and administrative details of your domain.

One of the worst offenders of this practice is iDNS, or Internet Domain Name Services. If you receive a letter from them asking you to renew your registrar with them, you’re the target of a scam and should act accordingly. Throw the letter away and move on.

Hijackers have several ways of snatching your domain name from you. Phishing pages, data breaches, calls to you claiming to be your domain registrar, and local keyloggers installed in your computer all present hijacking threats.

What Should You Do?

If someone is able to infiltrate your domain, the next step you should take is to immediately contact your domain registrar, or the company you registered your domain with. Let them know that your domain has been stolen out from under you, and if you’re able to prove that the transfer was fraudulent, your domain can be transferred back to its original registrar. If your domain found its way to a new registrar after getting hijacked, that registrar will work with your previous one to return the domain to you.

Hacking Prevention

Of course, you should avoid letting your domain get hijacked at all if possible. Make sure the domain you registrar with is trustworthy. SPARKS! can help with that. If you don’t fully trust the registrar that you’re with right now, transfer it as soon as possible. Ensure that your passwords and login information are air tight and not easy for anyone to hack, and be diligent about not letting your domain registration expire, which would result in a hacker not even needing to hijack the site.

Some domain registers are now providing domain locking services that prevent domain transfer without heightened security checks and authentication.

Searching for a company that you can trust your domain with? SPARKS! Marketing Communications has you covered. For more details about how we can keep your website safe and secure, please contact us at 866-500-8088 or visit https://www.onsparks.com/.