If you own a domain name (like we own ivanexpert.com), at some point you have probably gotten an email purportedly from a China domain registrar, asking about ownership of a domain name similar to yours.

For example:

We are the department of registration service in China. we have something need to confirm with you. We formally received an application to register ivanexpert as brand name and domain names as below :

ivanexpert.cn
ivanexpert.com.cn

After our initial checking, we found the brand name and these domain names being applied are as same as your company’s, so we need to confirm with your company.

These emails are scams, trying to get you to register a China domain through them at an exorbitant price. They send out millions of these emails to millions of domain owners. Do not respond.

However it is true that someone could try to buy yourdomain.cn or yourdomain.com.cn (both are China domains). The way to protect yourself, if you don’t want any chance of this happening, is to buy that domain yourself.

But do it through a reputable company. We’ve used OnlyDomains.com to register China domains (and domains from many other countries). Certain countries have restrictions; for example to register a China domain you need to provide incorporation paperwork as well as a copy of a driver’s license.

Read a more detailed analysis of the China scam here:

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/domain-name-application-scam.shtml

Image by great8, courtesy Flickr Creative Commons.