If you've received a letter, email, or text telling you that your domain is about to expire and you need to pay a renewal fee to a company you don't recognize, pause before you act. This is almost always a scam known as domain slamming, and it targets business owners specifically because domain expiry dates are public information.
What a fake renewal notice looks like
These notices are designed to look official, sometimes even referencing your real domain name and its real expiry date. A few warning signs usually give them away:
- It comes from a company you've never done business with, not your actual registrar or host.
- The price quoted is far higher than a normal domain renewal.
- It uses urgent language like "final notice" or "act before expiry" to pressure you into acting quickly.
- Fine print somewhere on the notice actually says "this is not a bill" or "this is a solicitation," because that disclaimer protects the sender legally.
- It asks you to fill in and return a form with your domain's authorization code, billing details, or payment information.
Why scammers can target you by name
Unless you have WHOIS privacy protection enabled on your domain, your name, email, and expiry date are publicly visible in domain lookup records. Scammers scrape this data and mail or email notices timed to arrive right around your renewal date, hoping you'll mistake the notice for a real bill from your current registrar.
What actually happens if you respond
There are two common outcomes, and neither is good:
- You pay an inflated fee for a renewal that either does nothing or duplicates a renewal you didn't need, since your domain was never actually about to expire with them.
- You unknowingly authorize a transfer of your domain to the scammer's registrar. If this succeeds, you lose the ability to manage your own DNS and email settings until you can get the domain transferred back, which can take time and sometimes money.
Never enter your domain's EPP/authorization code into a form from a company that contacted you unexpectedly. That code is the only thing needed to move a domain to a new registrar, and handing it over is what actually completes a slamming scam.
How to verify a renewal notice before acting
- Check your actual invoice history in your ZIPROF client area. A real renewal charge from ZIPROF will always appear there with your invoice number.
- Compare the sender's domain and company name carefully. A scam notice will never come from an official ZIPROF email address.
- If you're unsure, don't reply to the notice directly. Contact ZIPROF support through your client area or the official contact page and ask them to confirm your domain's real renewal status.
What to do if you've already received one
- Do not pay the invoice or click any payment links in the notice.
- Do not reply with your authorization code, billing details, or any account information.
- If it came by email, mark it as spam or phishing rather than just deleting it.
- Turn on WHOIS privacy protection on your domain if you haven't already, to make it harder for scammers to find your contact details and expiry date.
- If your domain supports a registrar lock, keep it enabled. This blocks unauthorized transfer requests even if someone obtains your details.
If you're ever genuinely unsure whether a renewal notice is legitimate, it costs nothing to check with ZIPROF support first. See What Is Domain Privacy Protection (WHOIS Privacy) and Do You Need It? for more on keeping your details out of public WHOIS records in the first place.