The saga has ended for the owner of BNN.com and Brel.com as both domains have been returned and are now in their possession.
Both domains were at NameSecure, a domain registrar operated by Web.com. After a long quest for their return, the domains were moved away from GoDaddy where the Algerian thief had transferred them to.
Questions remain about what is going on at a number of registrars: Network Solutions, Web.com and now NameSecure. Also, GoDaddy, that has been the destination of choice for the thief’s stolen domains time and again, apparently to instill a sense of trust into whoever he attempts to sell stolen domains to.
One thing is certain: a brazen thief is forging documents and social-engineers tech support personnel who agree to make changes to domain records, without a strict verification process. He’s been doing this for many years, believing he’s not going to get caught.
Here’s a quick guide about how to protect your domains:
- Never click on emails from registrars asking you to log into your account. Always visit the web site directly.
- Set up two factor authentication, preferably via the Authenticator app method. Phone authentication can fail thanks to SIM card hijacking.
- Set up any IP geo-fence offered by the domain registrar. This will cut down on the locales that can access your account.
- Always use a separate password for every service, such as email, hosting and domain management.
- Keep a short stick in hand, and hit domain thieves with it at least 100 times.
While we don’t condone violence in general, the stress and aggravation, along with financial loss that is sustained by domain theft leads us to believe that once a good smack up occurs, those scumbags would think twice before stealing another domain name.
