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Domain Registry Of Canada Scam With Direct Mail And Online

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People who prey on the uncertainty of others make me sick. This is the reason direct mail and email marketing efforts are dying in vein. It is because of places like the Domain Registry of Canada scam.
The Domain Registry Of Canada scam get their filthy paws on people who register a .CA web domain. The Domain Registry Of Canada scam then sends direct mail pieces warning you that you must “protect your domain” and other jargon that insinuates the Domain Registry Of Canada scam is an official or safe place (it is – but so is every other one). It’s done to lure you and the Domain Registry of Canada site and materials even look like a Government affiliated agency.
Here’s what the direct mail letter piece looks like:
http://sixpixels.com/pdf/Domain_Registry_of_canada_scam.pdf
It happened to one of our clients today. The Domain Registry of Canada scam will even talk to you through customer service (all nice). Pathetic. We got our clients their money back. Obviously many people fall prey to this. Very sad.
I’m angry as hell. You can also check out this link from www.internetbasedmoms.com titled, “Do I Have Register My Domain with the Domain Registry of Canada?”, it’s a more detailed version of how the Domain Registry of Canada scam markets itself.
Does it work? Yes. The truth is the Domain Registry of Canada scam is a legitimate registrar (albeit expensive) and they even include a return envelope and a tear-away stub for payment renewal (how convenient). They prey more on uncertainty than anything else. Sickening, I know.< P.S. - I wrote the words "Domain Registry Of Canada scam" many times in this post in hopes that it gets high search engine rankings. I would appreciate any links to this Blog entry or the link I offered above, Do I Have Register My Domain with the Domain Registry of Canada?, in hopes that the word spreads and this company learns that in order to do business a little value, credibility and honesty will go much further than shady direct mail pieces and playing off of fear.
…Glad I got that off of my chest. If this angers you, call the Domain Registry of Canada scam at 1-866-434-0212 – tell them what you think.

98 comments

  1. I just fell for the domain registry of canada scam. I have tried calling them repeatedly to switch it all back to my previous registrar but they keep telling me I have to wait 60 days before I can unlock my domain. I seem to be stuck. God only knows what happens in 60 days. They won’t cancel it and give my money back even though its only been a couple of days…

  2. I sent them a great letter, pretty much saying they were dirt. I get these in the mail every year for about 25 of my domains. It makes me sick.
    Good job on getting the word out.
    Drew

  3. You can try complaining directly to the owner of this scam operation or pay him a visit.
    Kuryliw, Peter
    24 Creekside Rd
    North York, ON M2M 4E1
    (416) 225-8436

  4. I’ve received plenty of these letters. I’m mystified by the apparent success of the business model, which counts on people being willing to pay outrageous prices for domain registration. Obviously, enough are doing so to make this racket profitable. Sad.

  6. Just a note that they send this not only to people who own .CA domains, but also people who own .COM domains. They helpfully show on my letter that as well as renewing, I can also order a .CA and .NET version of my domain for a mere $40/year.
    Such creeps.

  7. I have a .net site
    Not sure their source, how my mailing
    addy are connected to the site, but
    have it they do. My full name.
    I haven’t decided yet what I’m going
    to do about it. Luckily, they’ve given
    me till January before they’re unable
    to (stop themselves) protect me from
    registering .org .com .ca &c.
    So thoughtful.

  8. Hmm. How about wrapping a brick
    in brown paper? To which one might
    in turn tape the original post, or at
    least a quality facsimile. Then just
    mark it Return to Sender as .. you
    know.. Deceased, moved, wrong
    address — whatever. Get creative!
    Leave it for pick-up or just drop it
    in some local mailbox on your way
    to work.
    Who says vindictive is bad? 🙂

  9. Received one in the mail today. Checked it out with my IT department. They looked it up and informed me of the scam. Thank goodness for this informative web site.

  10. Thank god for this website because I just got their letter in the mail and was about to go along with it and renew and transfer my domain, but then I googled them and found this… can’t believe it.

  11. I would suggest taking your “so called” invoice, smearing it in excrement, and sending it back in their envelope.
    I hate these assholes!

  12. f’n gangstas a-holes I almost filled this one out as well, the best Internet phisher I’ve seen…sent via snail mail. This was a reminder to always double check the current scams …I would love to know how many people they rolled.

  14. I just saw, they include FREE webhosting with their $40 domain:
    Effective March 1, 2007 all domain names registered, renewed, or transferred to Domain Registry of Canada include:
    FREE WEB HOSTING for the lifetime of your domain name term.
    Web Hosting Includes:
    * 5 GB Disk Storage
    * 250 GB Data Transfer
    * 100 Web Based Email Accounts
    * Easy-to-use Control Panel
    * FTP Access
    * Web-based File Manager
    * Basic WYSIWYG editor
    * NO BANNER ADS
    Maybe they are doing the reverse of what so many hosting companies are doing (providing free domain and you pay for hosting).

  15. The Domain Registry of Canada, on its bill, has the smallest, most illegible fine print “conditions” of any that I have ever seen.

  16. I have received a couple of these. At first I thought it was a legitimate service until I realized the official looking forms didn’t actually come from any government department. It was also fishy that the conditions on the back were in type so small I needed a magnifying glass to read them.
    Let the buyer beware indeed.

  17. HA! Where do I START?
    I urge the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Protection as well as ANY Domain Registrar that values customer loyalty to get cracking on these guys since they DO IMPLY that they have registered this domain with them in the openning lines of their letters (of which I get about a dozen a year) without saying it directly and is THEREFORE misleading.
    I Actually called them and asked them to remove my mailing address from their list and in my frustration the “Daemon Jacob� who answered the phone told me not to feed him my sob stories. Pretty much the level of customer service quality I’d expect from a company with no integity or shame. If they were hijacking mortgages and what have you there would be a federal case against this by now.
    But THATS NOT ENOUGH. THESE GUYS ARE DOMAIN HIJACKERS AND SCAMMERS.
    This is a next generation high tech version of the business directory scam which was finally busted after years of being in business and after making millions if not bllions in fraud related profits.
    I understand it’s a recession and my heart bleeds for them with sympathy but this is total B.S. and No way to make an honest living. If the RCMP doesn’t do something about it then web developpers and anyone else in the industry should get interpol or the international agencies on their asses. Not all domains were canadian companies therefore I don’t believe there would be too many jurisdictional issues.
    I hope these guys like really warm weather because these guys and anyone working for them or with them that still have a conscious are going straight to hell, Atheist or otherwise.

  18. i received a letter in mail from this company late last year. after reading it i called their toll free number and they actually answered the phone immediately, not like when i had to call network solutions and hold over 5 minutes at a time. i asked them about the website hosting they said was included in every domain and they confirmed it was free with any domain with them and was included in the $40 annual registration fee. i used to pay us$12 per month with network solutions plus us$39 for my domain which worked out to almost can$200 a year and now i pay can$40 per year for the identical product and better service. i have no complaints with them, i just saved a lot of money and i’m happy to deal with a canadian company

  19. I have had to deal with these guys for over two years now. The amount of mail that I receive from them increases as my client base increases. I have to agree with all that have said this…the small print – is really small print. It is so small I need a large magnifying glass to read it.
    For anyone that doesn’t know. If a domain name is registered by mistake you usually have about 5 days to correct it. That is the time line they are given by the powers that be. After that 5 day period you are probably stuck with them for the 60 day period – good luck getting your money back by that point. 🙁
    DO NOT FALL FOR THIS MAIL SCAM. Ironically, most domain registrars frown on this type of action – too bad they are not reselling for another company – that would put a stop to it.

  20. Thanks for the heads up…. I almost got sucked into this scam too!! Thank you for saving us $ and a headache!

  21. I just got one of these letters and it sounded fishy. I’m glad I took the time to look up this article. Thanks!

  22. Ha! I just received one of these Domain Registry of Canada scam letters myself. I love the way they include a “reply requested by” date. A little bit of time pressure ensures you don’t pay attention to the details.

  23. One of our clients paid them for the transfer and renewal, she wasn’t even in the whois.
    Thinking it was spam we didn’t accept the transfer but she still paid them a while ago…
    Do you think I can get them to reimburse her?
    We didn’t find out about it until now because they contacted her 4 months before the expiration date of her domain, way earlier than we contact our clients.

  25. When you get a submission from them, take out their return envelope, cut out and paste their postage billing meter number from the letter they sent you, onto the return envelope, so they will get billed again. Put whatever trash you want into the
    envelope and mail it. Suggested comment: “Go back to Nigeria. Trash like you is not wanted in this country.” Do it enough times and they will get the message.

  26. Thank goodness I googled before heading to the bank to pay for what I thought was a genuine bill. I couldn’t figure out why I had to switch my .com to a Canadian company for more than double the cost. How do they find out all your information? I’m quite bothered by that fact.

  27. …harvey: are you serious. the whole board is saying they are scumbags, and here you go and say you like doing business with them because they are canadian! who do you work work for? you want CDN co… Dmainsatcost.ca

  28. I just a call from one of my clients asking me to unlock her domain. I suspect it’s at the request of these jokers. I hope she hasn’t paid them yet, but I’m almost certain she has. Now I’ll have to fight to get her money back.
    I wonder if the boys at the country club know how this asshole makes his money?

  29. Well I guess there’s a fool born everyday and I’m one of them. I have signed up with Domain Registry of Canada for 2 years. I don’t care about getting my money back, how do I get way from them now. Anyone got any ideas?

  30. Thank God I looked it up! I was just about to put a stamp on the envelope. It’s a good thing that as I typed up “Domain Registry of Canada”, Google suggested the following for me: “Domain Registry of Canada scam”, which led me to this site!

  31. I fell for it like a dumb T _ T
    Wanna kick them so badly.
    I hardly earn and out of jobs.. also fell for the scams like them.
    Wish I could get my money and my friend’s money back.

  32. Well, I just called them and see if I can get my money back.
    Someone actually answered and seemed very polite.
    However, as I understand, he insists that they’re not the scam and I can get my refund money back in my mail within 4 weeks if I don’t want their service.
    Those who would like to get the refund, please call 866 434 0212
    Good luck.

  33. Hey guys. I got this letter too and I IMMEDIATELY knew that it was bogus. This is because the cost of a one year renewal was $40.00!
    Haha, may current registrar only charges $10. So I knew it was crap. But I enjoyed their creativity.
    ~Trust your gut guys.

  34. Ha! Who in the world would fall for this? It might be useful to blanket advertise like this if their prices were SOMEWHAT reasonable. What a scam…. $40 per year? I just renewed mine at http://www.canspace.ca for $9.75 per year.

  35. Well, I just fell for it and normally I have a good eye on things of whats scam and not (junk mail anyways). I got it in the mail and it totally looks like something from the government so I decided to act on it as it stated my expiry date, email and so on. So I gave them a call and its technically not a scam. They are actually a company based in Ontario that actually want your service. What they stated in the letter is very misleading though because I thought it was a notification from my current domain service. I actually went through with the transfer and almost completed it by giving them my authorization code. Thankfully, I found this blog and many others about it. So I called them backed and explain the situation and they were actually kind enough to give me a refund. I’m actually waiting on it now sicne they said it’ll take 3 business days. I’m actually really glad, but however, I think their service is a bit cheaper from what they are advertising. I’ll have to research up somemore, but if I don’t ever get my refund, you’ll see me posting here again. If not, good luck!

  36. Its all true.. I testify these scammers are out there… This type of thing should be illegal.. where are the regulators on this one?

  37. Where are the government regulators? They are harrassing legitimate businesses and gorging on fine meals at taxpayer expense, while the real criminals like Domain Registry of Canada are allowed to profit along with the government.

  38. I got two of these BS renewals in the mail this week for dot COM address’. I knew right away these were fraudulent as I register all my domains with GoDaddy. Initially when I opened them I thought it was the CIRA who I had done a survey for the previous week.
    I called and spoke to Jessica and asked WTF they were doing scamming people making them think this was legit?? Oh she says, no it says it’s an advertisement all over it. Bullfeathers! Thankfully, the admin info has my info and mailing address or my clients would end up – err no I’d end up having to fight to try to get the domains back where they belong.
    Do they even bother to make sure the domain is still pointed at the previous hosting so the email and website still works?
    I’ll be linking this article to the rant on my website as well and yes, I also used Domain Registry of Canada lots to make sure anyone reading knows who I’m talking about.

  39. These guys are the biggest scammers out there. BEWARE of them. DO NOT SEND THEM MONEY!!!

  40. Sue them. Put a lien on all of their ocomputer equipment. Send then a quick lawyers letter and then see how they will react. Fast and Simple.

  41. Six years later and this garbage is still going on. Thanks for posting. I knew it was a scam but obviously many don’t, including some of my clients who called me on it. Luckily, they were suspicious enough to ask. I think this could be covered under mail fraud.

  42. Thanx to all who speak up when they smell a rat.
    I must admit I was almost taken in by these unreputable folks.
    I spent 20 minutes on the phone calling to try and speak to a manger
    or supervisotr which was a waste of my time as they simply would hang up on me as soon as I started to drift from the path of compliance to one of you folks
    are misleading the public. “Domain Registry of Canada” may be la legitimate bussiness but they certainly do not have the best interest of their clients in mind.
    Mike

  44. The were fined back in 2004 and issued a five year prohibition order. Nothing seems to stop them. Just got a letter from them today – the usual invoice looking thing.
    BTW – their prices are outrageous.
    Better Business Bureau Markham
    http://www.bbb.org/kitchener/business-reviews/internet-marketing-services/domain-registry-of-canada-in-markham-on-1090726
    Competition Bureau ruling
    http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/00262.html
    Do a search on their name. There are warnings up all over the place. STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE. THEY’RE CROOKS.

  45. thank you so much for this article…I just received this letter…wow…it really makes you wonder how some people can live with themselves..
    connie paxman

  46. My customer just 5 minutes ago calls in and is asking if we are still the registrar for the domain because they sent a cheque to this company for a huge amount.

  47. I just got a letter from them about one of my .com domain names and the fact that they wanted $40 a year for renewal mystified me for a second but I immediately recognized it as a scam. People these days don’t expect letter scams anymore, only online ones.

  48. Just got one of these today. It looked odd but for the life of me I couldn’t remember WHO I have my domain with. I renew it through my web host in the States.
    Thankfully, a search of their name landed me on this site (and a few others saying SCAM)
    lucky me,
    Thank you!

  49. Ugggh! These creeps have been sending me these crap letters for years, not only for my .ca registered domains (2), but my .com (3) registered ones also. 3 of my domains are private (for which I pay dearly) so I have no idea how they got my name and address from them.

  50. http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5266/196/
    Above is a link to Michael Geist’s site where he has reported that, in August of this year, the Fed’s have shut down “Domain Registry of Canada”!!!
    Horray for this but, if I am understanding the report correctly, why, WHY did it take an American agency to accomplish this and safe Gaurd Canadian citizens at the same time as their own? Why the H… Did our own Government allow It to continue? I find it embarrassing, as a Canadian, to say the least.
    The link to the post is above and provides another link to the official report from the FTC.

  51. http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5266/196/
    Above is a link to Michael Geist’s site where he has reported that, in August of this year, the Fed’s have shut down “Domain Registry of Canada”!!!
    Horray for this but, if I am understanding the report correctly, why, WHY did it take an American agency to accomplish this and safe Gaurd Canadian citizens at the same time as their own? Why the H… Did our own Government allow It to continue? I find it embarrassing, as a Canadian, to say the least.
    The link to the post is above and provides another link to the official report from FTC.

  52. First of all, sorry for that double posting:)
    secondly, I am now scratching my head wondering why they, the DRC, are still sending out their scam “invoices” in August when they were fined/charged in June?
    I’m wondering if they are now only working the scam in Canada, hoping the FTC doesn’t notice. Or, perhaps the US court ruling doesn’t apply to Canada?
    Pathetic!

  53. Unfortunately I fall for this stupid scam just a day ago. Usually I am more careful but the official looking form mislead me. When I completed the payment online and I got no official confirmation and email from the transaction I got suspicious. I looked around (now hitting my head to the wall why not did it earlier) that this is a scam. I called my bank immediately (about 5 hour later of the transaction) but they already charged it to my visa card. I cancelled my card and asked the bank the help me to dispute the payment. I wrote an email to my present provider not to let transfer my domain name. Anything else I should do?

  54. Who can we contact in Canada that is official and take a look at this? I think I paid them one time back when I was starting out for .ca domain. But I still get them when my Whoisguard protection sometimes doesn’t work properly. That’s how they get your name and address by the way. They scan whois info for sites and any that have legit looking addresses they send the mail to, so I recommend you get a Whoisguard protection, it’s 2 bucks a year on namecheap and free for the first year. All my other domains that are properly protected (63) I have not got a mail for. But yeah it would be good if someone knows an authority to complain to, then we all call them about this f***** pieces of ***.

  55. thank you, I appreciate your help with this blog article. Until I read this I thought Domain Registry of Canada was a legitimate government related organization. I thought I was receiving it due to my domain registration from a site I opted out of a long time ago (switched to Godaddy) and was wondering what it was all about, tho I never fell for it because the price is literally 4 times what I can get from other hosting companies

  56. I just got fucked by them, but my domain name was parked so they couldn’t transfer it. But, more then that, they sent me an email to ask me to contact my registrar and make them unparked my domain. This is where I realise that I’ve been fucked.
    Sorry for the language but I’m mad.

  57. just call the number above and they will give a refund if it’s within 5 days. These days, you should trust the internet more than the written stuff.

  58. I fell for this a couple years back. They got some money but not the domain name. Ensure your domain name is LOCKED by which ever company you are registered with. Domain Registry of Canada will send you an email asking you to have it unlocked which was my clue something was wrong.

  59. I just got a letter from them too. You know the first thing that tipped me off? The name was only in English.

  60. Got my letter December 31st. Googled “Domain Registry of Canada SCAM” and your page was the first to come up. Thanks for the scam confirmation.

  61. Thanks bro,
    Googled, “Domain Registry of Canada” and you’re article was on page 1.
    …they almost got me!
    Thanks again,
    Happy New Year!

  64. Got a letter yesterday and while I recognized it as a scam it still pisses me off. I’m in Markham Ontario and feel like taking the day to hang around the post office box to see if anyone stops by so I can give them a punch in the gut.

  65. I got another one of these letters today! I called them up and told them to take me off the mailing list. I hate these kind of scammers…I looked them up in the Better Business Bureau, and 21 complaints, 14 no response from the company! A shame that you can’t get them banned by google or something like that.

  66. I really appreciate you making this blog entry. I got this in the mail today and I was wondering what the hell it was all about. Thanks for clearing it up.

  67. Wish I would have found this website before I got caught by this scam! Bad on me for not paying attention. The letter makes it appear that you are registering with the Government of Canada. I got suspicious when I got the email to unlock my registry with my current domain provider. Lucky for me I had a lock on the registrar.
    Now to get my money back.

  68. I keep getting these emails as well and clients asking me about them. Today it was an official looking letter. We all know it is a scam and you need to fight fire with fire sometimes.
    We should all call them daily on their number 866-434-0212 you know if each one of us every day called just to say ‘Hi’, what do you think would happen to them? Especially if it totals to over 1000 of us per day and we all wait to get a live person just to waist their time like they do ours. After all nothing wrong with calling them to say hi now is there? Not to mention they have to pay for the 866 number by the minute…maybe we should chat them up a bit.

  70. I stopped them from transferring a domain when a client “paid the bill” without asking about legitimacy by refusing to unlock the domain. They were finally forced to refund the money because they couldn’t transfer the domain registration unless the current registrar allowed it.
    It pays to lock your domain.

  71. I just receved one of these ‘invoices’ in the mail today and will be notifying my domain/vps provider as to the attempt.
    Fortunately I have a bit of knowledge in regards to this sort of registration process, however to the un-initiated they could very well fall for it. I will be posting something on my own website and will be providing links from it to here if you do not mind. Thanks for this.

  72. Sorry for the double posting, however I don’t see a way to edit my above post. I just looed at the BBB for a review of this ‘Company’ and they have an F rating with them. If you receive on of these letters, I would notify the BBB as to their sleezy business practices… I did.

  73. I’ve been getting this garbage from them for a couple of years. I finally just called their line and asked to be taken off their mailing list. To the scammer’s credit the woman on the line looked up my address from the domain (I have several that they email me about) and said they would remove any references to that address from the database. We’ll see if they honor that. BTW – while waiting on the line their message said they offered up to a 40% discount on domain renewal! Who charges $66 for a domain renewal? That’s insanity in a bottle.

  74. I agree – Domain Registry of Canada is a scam. I just had a client send them money because he thought their “transfer request” was a bill that he had to pay to keep his domain. The name Domain Registry of Canada sounds official (like the CIRA or something) so he assumed it was legit. Most of our clients know nothing about how domain registry works, and Domain Registry of Canada scams people into thinking they are renewing their domain, when in fact they are changing registrars. It’s disgusting, but I don’t know what to do other than complain to the BBB (which I have done).
    PLUS – two of their employees hung up on me this morning! I was calm during both calls, and one said that their service is “not intended for ignorant people” (speaking about my client) and the other said that I was being “irrational” and then hung up on me. Her name is Louise and her extension is #230 if anyone cares. 🙂

  75. This was hilarious… The first clue might be that the markup on an $8 domain was about 500%. …And oh, right, IT CAME IN THE MAIL. Interesting though: My domain is a .com.
    Just remember the flow chart when you get unsolicited mail from a company you’ve never heard of:
    Is this a scam? –> Yes.
    Oh well, at least my site got a hit.

  76. This article is still coming up first in the search. Thank you!
    Maybe something new here: I often get mail at my apartment addressed to people who aren’t me. I just put RTS – no such tenant, and drop it at a mailbox and that usually does it. But today the envelope was from the “domain registry of canada.” I don’t have a domain registered online, and the name on the address included the word “bank.” Seriously, the most I’ve ever had is a wordpress blog.
    Are these criminals are expanding their enterprise?
    Thanks again for the article. Good to know they’re already known creeps.

  79. Lori, scammers like the Domain Registry of Canada get your home address from the Domain Registrar (like GoDaddy) that you originally used to buy the domain. Domain ownership is public info, unless you pay your registrar extra to keep it private.

  80. So glad that you posted this – there letter looks so official. Really pisses me off too!!!!!

  81. Not sure what qualifies for ‘at cost’, but if you want reliable domain hosting, use Hostway.com — their prices are even better (http://www.hostway.com/domain-name/pricing.html): 9.95/yr for .com and .ca with multi-year discounts — I am in no way affiliated with them, but have been using them for over 7 years, and have many domains registered through them.

  82. Thank you for writing this post. I just received a letter from the Domain Registry of Canada and thought it looked fishy, so I decided to investigate it and came across your blog. I’ve shared your post on FaceBook. Awareness of this slick scam will reduce the number of victims and hopefully begin to cut down on the profits for that unscrupulous company.
    Again, thank you!

  83. Thanks for pointing this out. I got this mail not long ago and wasn’t sure if it was a scam or so (scam by live mail seems pretty rare these days it seems). Now we know. I’ll make sure to let others know about it too!

  84. Just got off the phone in a very heated discussion with this company. I’ve blogged about it, asked to get removed from their mailing list 4 times now and still get these things. The customer service people “Damian” and his supervisor “Eric”, think they run a legitimate business.

  85. I have several websites with dot com after them. For each I have received one of these letters. Yesterday I was renewing my hosting service and asked them about Domain Registry of Canada. They knew nothing about them. I’m grateful for this blog which I have now sent to CTV news Edmonton as well as posted on my facebook page. If I could figure out how to get CBC news to do an article on it, I would as well. Many blessings.

  86. I got caught. My “renewal” came by email and I paid them, then I got the subsequent request to unlock my Donain Name from GoDaddy. I had forgotten that GoDaddy renews the domain name automatically. Anyway, I didn’t unlock it. But they got my money anyway. I’ll try for a refund but am not optimistic.
    Years ago, when I first created a website and used another Hosting service I used DRC and, like other users, I though I had to because I’m in Canada. So, when this renewal came in I first thought it was legit.
    BTW, my domain is a .org one.

  87. I got caught. My “renewal” came by email and I paid them, then I got the subsequent request to unlock my Donain Name from GoDaddy. I had forgotten that GoDaddy renews the domain name automatically. Anyway, I didn’t unlock it. But they got my money anyway. I’ll try for a refund but am not optimistic.
    Years ago, when I first created a website and used another Hosting service I used DRC and, like other users, I though I had to because I’m in Canada. So, when this renewal came in I first thought it was legit.
    BTW, my domain is a .org one.

  88. Received the same mail last week. Looked legitimate although normally we renew with the current registrar and it didn’t make sense that we would need to transfer over to a “new” registrar.
    All information looked legit like it was a company that may have been taking over for another.
    Will be adding this company to my sh!t list of direct mail, email and telephone scammers.
    Thanks for the heads up!

  89. keep phoning them with questions asking if you have a domain with them. 1-866-434-0212 They pay for each call that they get.
    We’ve had a domain with them for years and now that i’ve gotten a scam mail for another domain that we had listed elsewhere, I’m dropping them as a client.
    There’s better out there.

  90. I received mail from Domain Registry of Canada many times. Its envelope just looks like something from Canadian Government Agency, I think many people do think this letter is from Government Agency and you have to switch your domain to them.., the registration fee is far more expensive than Godaddy or other guys.
    Why in Canada this kind law-governed country , there are still many place for this kind of scam?
    How can I ask them to stop send the mail to me?

  91. I called its tf number, holding too long, I sent a email to them asking stop sending me the scam mail.
    There is a contact email on its site.

  93. I feel like an idiot – but feel better now.
    Like so many others on this thread, in a moment of distraction I fell for the official looking document with the Maple Leaf and simply paid off what appeared to be a legit invoice for a URL I don’t really use (but have on file for that great project I never get around to launching 😉
    I became suspicious when I started to get emails asking me to arrange for transfer of the domain name.
    Google brought me to my good friend Mitch’s 2004! blog post.
    Now for the “I feel better now” part: I guess their legal problems have set them (a little more) on the straight and narrow, because with the order number I was able to cancel my order and am told that I will see a refund within 72 hours.
    Contact info, for anyone looking:
    Tel: +1.866.434.0212
    International Tel: +1.905.479.2533
    Response was simple, courteous and took about 2 minutes.
    Now I’ll wait 72 hours to see if I’ve been scammed some other way, or if the refund does indeed go through in full, as promised. Fingers crossed!
    Thanks for the post, Mitch – gotta love the Long Tail!
    Michelle

  94. Just got this letter in the mail today as well. Read through a few comments here, but in case anyone doesn’t know:
    1. They get your name and address using a ‘whois’ search. This could either be done using the ‘whois’ command in a Linux terminal, or using any of the web-based whois search engines (eg. http://www.whois.com).
    2. I’m not sure if they just started adding this (likely due to complaints) but it does state the following in bold caps: “This is a solicitation for the order of services and not a bill, invoice or statement of account due. You are under no obligation to make any payments on account of this offer unless you accept this offer.” It doesn’t make it okay by any means. I still feel uneasy that they would track down our information and solicit us like this. Definitely not an honest business practice.

  95. Thanks for the post and the phone number. I called 1-866-434-0212 and politely asked to be removed from any mailing to my home address. We’ll see if it works — I’ve been receiving their scammy advertisement/bait-n-switch for many years.
    The customer representative on their end was surprisingly helpful! I can’t imagine how many irate customers they must get on the phone every day…!

  96. Call the Better Business Bureau of Canada and open a case against them. The more people that do this, the better! My Father was tricked by this shady company as well. His domain was locked in his account so fortunately this stopped Domain Registry of Canada by going into his account and taking over his domain. It is basically stealing a client from another business! The worst part is that they actually still managed to cash in his cheque without actually doing anything. They offered my Father zero services to justify taking his money and thus we were able to call them back and demand a refund. They have told us that they will return us his money in 3-4 weeks by mail. It was easy enough, but nonetheless quite frustrating! For anyone who reads this, please make sure that your domain is locked with your service provider. If you do not know how to do this, please contact your provider and they will be happy to help you.

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