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Warning issued over dot-eu fraud 
Friday, September 20 2002
by Andrew McLindon


Companies have been warned not to fall for a 'scam' involving the
pre-registration of the new dot-eu (.eu) domain name. 







 

UK-based domain name registrar, Internetters, has warned that "Internet
fraudsters" have been attempting to trick people out their money by offering to
reserve .eu domain names months in advance of the registry for the Top Level
Domain (TLD) being set-up.

 

Ken Sorrie, co-founder and director, Internetters, told ElectricNews.Net that
this amounts to fraudulent behaviour because the rules by which this registry
will operate have yet to be fully defined.

 

"The .eu TLD has been agreed, but nothing else. It may be many months, possibly
over a year, before a registry is established, and its regulations and pricing
structure put in place. It would be very reckless for anyone to pre-register for
a .eu domain and part with their money until those issues are resolved,"
commented Sorrie. 

 

Currently, several companies are offering to pre-register/reserve .eu domain
names. One site, for instance, says that for EUR39 it will accept .eu
pre-registrations (reservations). "As soon as the TLD .eu is available, we will
pass on your registration to the responsible registrar and will try to secure
your domain," it says.

 

The service says it cannot guarantee a domain registration and if not successful,
the customer can apply for another domain free of charge. It does not mention
anything in its terms of business about refunding the EUR39 if the original
pre-registered domain name can't be secured.

 

In addition, Sorrie charged that many of the companies offering this
pre-registration service may not be in existence by the time the registry is
eventually set-up. "If you look at the addresses of some of these business,
they tend to be based in a country well outside Europe and are uncontactable by
phone. There is no guarantee that they will be still be around when .eu domains
can actually be registered," he remarked. 

 

Another problem with pre-registering without knowing the registry's rules, said
Sorrie, is that it may introduce a restrictive regime. "For instance, in many
European countries such as Spain, France and Ireland, certain conditions have to
meet before you can receive a country-code domain. The same might happen with the
.eu registry, which could mean, for example, that companies might only be able to
have a .eu domain that matches the exact name on their incorporation forms."

 

Although the exact rules and regulations surrounding the distribution of .eu
domain names have yet to be decided, the European Commission has previously said
that certain restrictions will definitely be enforced to avoid abusive or
speculative registrations. 

 

These will include an initial phased introduction of names in order to give
trademark holders the right to apply for names they are legally entitled to, this
is usually called the "sunrise" period. While public bodies will also have the
opportunity to register their names in advance of the general public

 

Indeed, the Commission has already issued a warning about the perils of
pre-registering a .eu domain. "Given the risks for confusion, pre-registration
services are not recommended by the Commission. In any case, consumers and
companies are encouraged to check exactly what is and what is not being offered,"
said the Commission in a statement.