Although we have our own in-house web development, we are always getting requests from people who want to sell their web or marketing services to us. But, something new popped up in my mailbox this week. In what appears to be a legitimate invoice mailed to my business address, a phony directory company called ‘Domain Networks’ requests up to $289 for ‘listing maintenance’. It really is an impressive looking invoice - that really isn't an invoice.
It is actually a new scam that is targeting business owners who own and maintain their company’s website and domain. In fact, the company does not maintain any client domains – they’re simply an online business directory, and a terrible one at that. They try to fool you by adding personal information that is accessible through the Internet, but difficult for most to find. These include your business name, address, domain name, and server names. This predatory company designed these sales pitches to look extremely similar to an invoice that requires payment. They even include a stamped envelope in order to send your payment, in an attempt to further legitimize this scam invoice.
However, if you take the time to read the fine print, you’ll see that the $289 is paid for a listing on the Domain Networks website - a poorly built directory of businesses throughout the US. This directory is worthless. It doesn't even produce any relevant Google results.
They get away with this by adding tiny text on the flip-side of the invoice charge - Domain Networks confirms: “THIS IS NOT A BILL. THIS IS A SOLICITATION. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO PAY THE AMOUNT STATED ABOVE UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER.” Even though this is stated on the bill, it’s in the middle of a large body of text, and it’s on the flip-side of the invoice – so it’s very easy to miss, designed to be buried within the text. This is purely a scam designed to prey upon unsuspecting people, elderly people, or other vulnerable groups.
It is really easy to find out this is a scam – a single Google page of results shows a bunch of people who’ve received the bill, wondering if it’s legitimate or not. With the amount of personal information featured on these fake invoices, it’s certainly not surprising that some have fell victim to this predatory tactic.
If you own and operate a website, you usually only have two bills – one is registration for your domain/website name, usually through a website like GoDaddy. The other bills come from your choice of website hosting, which includes companies like Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace. These combined bills normally don’t add up to more than $100 a year per domain/website. Nothing close to paying $289 a year like this scam wants.
Always be aware of predatory marketing tactics. On fake invoices like these, the they will make sure to print in the fine text that this is purely a sales tactic, in order to bypass authorities. Always make sure to read all the text on everything, especially when it involves your business.