<\/p>\n
Every so often, website owners receive an urgent-looking Domain Name Renewal letter or Domain Name Expiration notice through the U.S. mail saying their domain name is about to expire.<\/p>\n
The letter may look like an invoice. It may include your real domain name, an \u201cexpiration\u201d date, a payment slip, and language warning you about losing your online identity if you don\u2019t act quickly.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the truth:<\/strong> these mailers are not<\/strong> sent by your actual domain registrar. They\u2019re solicitations designed to get you to pay a third party and, in many cases, unintentionally transfer your domain away from the company that currently manages it.<\/p>\n This deceptive tactic is often called \u201cdomain slamming.\u201d The mailer is crafted to resemble a renewal bill, but the fine print typically reveals you\u2019re not \u201crenewing\u201d with your current provider at all. You\u2019re accepting an offer to switch (transfer) your domain to the sender\u2014often at a higher cost and with terms you didn\u2019t intend.<\/p>\n The Federal Trade Commission has taken action against at least one well-known sender of these notices. In a 2003 case, the FTC alleged that Domain Registry of America (DROA) used mail solicitations that appeared to be renewal notices or invoices, leading consumers to unwittingly switch registrars, and the stipulated order barred misleading representations and required consumer redress.<\/p>\n In its 2025 Business Scan Study, the Better Business Bureau received more than 1,000 reports of scams, including more than 40- specifically related to domain names.<\/p>\n And unfortunately, we here at OurChurch.com have had several of our clients who have fallen prey to these scams.<\/p>\n Yeah, we\u2019re going to go ahead and name names, so you know who to be wary of.<\/p>\n Note that this list of \u201cDomain Name Renewal\u201d and \u201cDomain Name Expiration Notice\u201d mailers is not exhaustive, and it\u2019s not uncommon once a company gets \u201couted\u201d to start operating under a new name:<\/p>\n Domain Registry of America (DROA) (including \u201cDomain Renewal Group\u201d branding shown in sample letters)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Internet Domain Name Services (iDNS), mentioned as a common example of these mailers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cDomain Name Services\u201d mailers that look like invoices but operate as transfer solicitations<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \u201cDomain Registry\u201d \/ \u201cDomain Name Expiration Notice\u201d style letters (various branding variations)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n These mailers often pull contact info from public domain registration data (WHOIS) or other compiled business data sources. So the fact that they know your domain and mailing address doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re your registrar\u2014it often just means they know where to send a convincing-looking solicitation.<\/p>\n Here are the most common clues we see:<\/p>\n It arrives by postal mail and looks like a bill you weren\u2019t expecting.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The sender name is unfamiliar (or \u201cofficial-sounding\u201d but not your provider).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The letter uses urgency and fear: \u201cfinal notice,\u201d \u201cact today,\u201d \u201closs of online identity,\u201d etc.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The fine print says something like \u201cTHIS IS NOT A BILL\u201d or \u201cTHIS IS A SOLICITATION,\u201d but it\u2019s easy to miss.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The \u201crenewal\u201d term is unusually long (often multiple years) and priced higher than what you normally pay.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Do not pay it right away.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Do not call the number on the letter.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Verify your real renewal date by logging into the account where your domain is actually managed (or ask your web team to check).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n If your accounting department handles mail, make sure they know domain \u201crenewal\u201d letters are a common trap.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n If you already paid: contact your real domain provider immediately so they can help you protect your domain and check whether any transfer was initiated.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n If your domain is with OurChurch.com, please know this clearly:<\/p>\n We will never send a domain name renewal notice through the U.S. mail.<\/p>\n If you receive a letter, email, or any communication about your domain that feels suspicious or confusing, you are always welcome to send it to us and ask, \u201cIs this legit?\u201d We\u2019d much rather take 60 seconds to confirm it\u2019s junk than have you spend money (or risk your domain) by mistake.<\/p>\n If you want, paste the text from a letter you received (or upload a photo of it), and I\u2019ll help you identify the red flags and draft a short message your team can use internally to handle these when they come in.<\/p>\n If it\u2019s important to you to partner with people who act with integrity and will look out for you, learn more about our DIY website builder, web design services, and search marketing services.<\/p>\n Then complete the form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop) to schedule a discovery call.<\/strong><\/p>\n Learn more in from our Website Hosting Frequently Asked Questions<\/p>\n Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com<\/strong><\/p>\n Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like <\/span>ChurchLeaders.com<\/span>, <\/span>The JoyFM<\/span>, and his personal blog, <\/span>LiveIntentionally.org<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at <\/span>Journey Community Church<\/span> and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every so often, website owners receive an urgent-looking Domain Name Renewal letter or Domain Name Expiration notice through the U.S. mail saying their domain name is about to expire. The letter may look like an invoice. It may include your real domain name, an \u201cexpiration\u201d date, a payment slip, and language warning you about losing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[6018,384,6019,6020,5011,6017],"class_list":["post-18579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-prayer","tag-domain","tag-dont","tag-letters","tag-mail","tag-renewal","tag-scammed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What\u2019s actually happening<\/h4>\n
Companies that Send \u201cDomain Name Renewal\u201d Letters<\/h4>\n
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Why they have your business name and address<\/h4>\n
Red flags that a \u201cDomain Name Renewal\u201d\u00a0 or \u201cDomain Name Expiration Notice\u201d is really a solicitation<\/h4>\n
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What to do if you receive one<\/h4>\n
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OurChurch.com policy: we will never mail a domain renewal notice<\/h4>\n
Work with an Honest Website Partner<\/h4>\n