FAQ - Scams and Hoaxes

General Tips to avoid Phishing
Never follow a link within an email if you are really not sure, or even a little suspicious. A lack of any personalised greeting or your unique account numbers would indicate the real sender doesn't actually know you, hence why you should not trust them. If the email contains information that only you and they would know, then you could trust it.

Some that are not scams
Not all emails that look like phishing emails are scams, eg SRSPlus or OpenSRS asking you to check your contact details on the domain whois, is legit (they are our upstream international domain providers).. But just in case someone fakes this, you are only viewing the info, don't login or submit any information

Paypal - HostGator
Do not following any links regarding this. Any email from paypal or other financial provider should have been sent to your registered email address, and they would also provide a personal greeting and your username, account ID, or other information that indicates they know you already. Phishing scams always fail to use any details in their email that are relevant only to you.

Trademarks and Domains (mainly from Asia)
Any email discussing domain names and intellectual trade marks, not originating from a lawyer in your own country should be ignored as spam.

Bank Refunds - aka Nigerian Bank Scam
Never refund an "overpayment" from an international inwards transfer. You need to wait up to 30 days for these types of payments to clear from untrusted 3rd parties. If you do refund any money, and discover you have been defrauded, make sure you contact your bank asap.

Reciprical Link Request
Do not accept reciprical link requests from anyone except businesses you know and trust. Approaches from strangers and international organisations should be treated as spam.

Fees for website directories claiming huge hits
If you have not heard of the business directory before, and you do not use it yourself, then don't pay for it. Yellow Pages, Finda, Megamart, Bigcity, HamiltonInfo, Google, MSN, Yahoo and NZS.com are the only you might consider paying for. Do not trust their claims of outlandish stat histories. Check your own stats within our CMS for their incoming links, if no links, you know they are lying.

Domain Renewal Notices / Trademark Infringements
It's common to receive emails or letters that look like invoices for domain renewals/registrations from disreputable third parties. It is a scam, please ignore.


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