False Whois domain data

Question

A domain name I'm interested in came up as registered to someone in the Netherlands two days ago when I first looked for it. I didn't take down the details but the expiry date was in 2015 and person had owned it since 2006.

When I looked again Whois told me the registrant had changed to "World Name Group".

Typing in the domain name in question takes you to the page "Active Domain (Re)sale". Alarm bells were ringing but I had an online chat with them to see if they owned the name. Their answer was that "they had sold it but the customer hadn't accepted it yet" and "did I want to make an offer".

This is obviously a scam to get interested parties to make offers for something they more than likely will never own. I have made a complaint through ICANN as the Whois info is almost definitely false. Does anyone know if there is anything else you can do in a case like this, and is there anything else I can do to try and get the domain name?!

Answer 1

'False WHOIS info is against ICANN rules'

No, it's not. Providing your REGISTRAR with false information is againt ICANN policies. Providing false WHOIS information is not.

Below is an excerpt from ICANN's registrar accreditation agreement...

3.7.7.2 A Registered Name Holder's willful provision of inaccurate or unreliable information, its willful failure promptly to update information provided to Registrar, or its failure to respond for over fifteen calendar days to inquiries by Registrar concerning the accuracy of contact details associated with the Registered Name Holder's registration shall constitute a material breach of the Registered Name Holder-registrar contract and be a basis for cancellation of the Registered Name registration.

A domain can only be canceled with the registrant provides false information to the registrar. You can put whatever the heck you want on the WHOIS. Since most people pay for domains by credit card, and most registrars have address verification set up, it's probably a safe bet that the person who owns that domain isn't going to have it canceled any time soon. I'm sure their registrar has their correct information.

So in your case the most valid option to get the domain is to communicate with the registrar and try to reason with them.

Answer 2

Buying a domain name just in the hope to resell it later is not a scam. You may ethically disagree with this business, but it exists, and it is legit (as long as the domain name acquired does not infrige third parties copyright and various registry rules).

When the domain name you want is already taken, my prefered advice, as unfortunate as it may sound, is just to find another one, this is the fastest and less costly path. With the new gTLDs it gives you many opportunities.

Otherwise, if you want to be really helped, you should give the domain name you are speaking about.