domain listing my contact info

[clexcorp]

I own 3 domains, I learned when going to update my contact info and renew 2 of them that someone registered a name thats exact to mine with an .info extension. I've never owned this domain and to boot their contact record reads like a copy of mine except with a +1 in front of the phone number. It was registered by registerfly in Sept and purchased through enom, at least thats what it reads. Its also parked through a service called overture parking, this is all I have so far. I don't want the domain, never did, so I'm not made at that, I also have all 3 of mine parked. It seems like someone is playing with me almost, isn't this a type of identity theft?
I've contacted registerfly and enom but don't know what else to do, any help is appreciated!

Thank You, April

[clexcorp]

I just did another check through a service provided by enom and they're saying the domain is parked there. Does that mean they are the ones I should go to directly?

[mcavic]

You should probably ask the registrar to either cancel or suspend the domain. Then the parking won't matter.

Or, if they're not helpful, then you could transfer the domain to another registrar (if your email address is in the whois, then that shouldn't be a problem) then just let it expire. That way, whoever registered it won't have access to it anymore.

As far as identity theft ... it is mysterious, but I wouldn't worry all that much unless it was a real web site.

[vkaryl]

Hi April. Are you sure that you didn't simply click "okay" when your registrar offered the .info for free over the last few months? If so, they might simply have attached your current registration information (+1 is simply the international dialing telephone code for the US, btw) to the .info setup.

A lot of registrars offered .info for free lately; it will probably eventually be the same price they charge for other tlds. You might double check your registrar contacts for the last few months just to verify it's definitely not something you did without realizing....

[davezan]

.info, you say? There was a controversy months ago when eNom and Sipence registered
.info domains on behalf of their customers, using the same info as their .com versions.

That has since been corrected.

I don't know if registerfly got into the act as well, being an eNom reseller. I'll check.

[clexcorp]

I was informed after 98 minutes of phone calls that is was "promotion" (registerflys) and they admitted it should been listed in my account as an active domain which it wasn't. I feel like an idiot now but have to admit it did scare me when I first found it.

Do registrars do this type of thing often, should I be concerned about future securitu issues? I apologize, I just like to work with people I can trust.

[vkaryl]

Oh gosh. I hope those phone calls weren't on YOUR money!

My registrar informed me up front about the availability of .info for free. They offered to handle the whole thing on all of the domains I register through them, or leave it to me to take care of. I opted to do it myself when I wanted to.

I don't know about your registrar, but mine has been a STERLING (well, how about 14K GOLD) experience, and I'm not leaving them any time in the near OR far future, as long as they treat me the way they have so far. Yes, they're a tad more expensive than some ($13.50 US/year) but they aren't flakes either....

[mcavic]

With GoDaddy, any time you order something, they give you a big list of special offers, and you have to be careful as you go through 3 or 4 pages, sometimes clicking Continue, and sometimes No Thanks.

I wish they were more straightforward, but their prices make up for it.

[clexcorp]

Oh of course it was my dime! They kept connecting me, waiting, listening to elevator music and disconnect, very frustrating. It then took 3 techs to tell me it was promotion after that, I have to laugh.

Thank you for the recommendations, I do think I'll be switching very soon!