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Domain Name scams - 2 just this week!
Domain scams are still running rampant. Here are 2 that were pulled on me this week. I'm going to delete the actual domain names out of these emails so I don't tamper with their search engine results in the future.
#1. I received an email trying to sell me the .com version of a .ca domain name I own.
Our company specializes in acquiring expired domain names to help individuals and businesses protect their brand online.
The domain name ____.COM expired recently and we were able to secure it.
We noticed that you own ____.CA and felt that you may be interested in acquiring the .COM version of your existing domain name.
It is available for a one-time fee of only $99.00 USD.
To purchase or learn more, please visit http://zipdomains.com/buy.php?domain=____.com
At first I thought - hmmm - I was thinking about dumping my .ca version now that I don't sell the product anymore. However the affiliate income from the site has picked up over the last year. Maybe it would be worth $99 to secure the .com version? The site was my biggest competitor a few years ago.
So I clicked on the link to see what the details were, and quickly realized that no where did it mention actually transfering the domain name to my ownership at all. Were they just going to lease it to me year by year? This seemed fishy. I Googled 'Zip Domains' and quickly learned that these people don't often own the domains at all! I leaped over to GoDaddy.com, where I purchase my domains, and did a search for the domain name in question. It was available! I quickly scooped it up for just over $12 Canadian. And to think how many people probably fall for this one when the domain name is actually freely available!! I'll have to develop this site soon because there are lots of links up on the web for the site. Could be a nice little trickle of income.
#2. I got an email saying:
Hi,
my name is Brandon Birdwell and I would be interested in buying your domain ____.COM from you. Are you interested in selling it? If yes, how much would you want for it? What payment method would you prefer?
And just in case you are wondering how I got your email, anyone can get that info at whois.net
Regards,
Brandon Birdwell
Hmm. Odd. First glance, seems legit, but I'm incredibly skeptical. I Googled his name and found nothing out of the ordinary. I Googled his name again with the word 'domain' and still nothing out of the ordinary. It seems weird to me that the domain name is all in capital letters, as if this email was created by a bot that grabbed domain names in capital letters from WHOIS records. It also seems odd that the letter is defensive about how they got my contact info. And why mention what payment method I prefer when I haven't agreed to sell it? Still a skeptic, I Googled "I would be interested in buying your domain". BINGO! Several other people with the same email, word for word, with different names. It seems this person is looking for people wanting to sell by Paypal. I don't know if they plan to reverse the payment after they have the domain name, or what this particular scheme is, but I'm out.
Be careful with your domain names! It is better to be skeptical than taken as a fool!
48 comments
Comment from: Philip [Visitor]
Thanks for the post. I just got the same exact email from Brandon Birdwell.
03/11/09 @ 22:17
Comment from: rob, BtG [Visitor] · http://www.blogtogreat.com
i rec'd the same email... Mr Birdwell is a busy guy. Not that i have any plans to sell the BlogToGreat.com domain.
thanks, i will post a similar warning to my readers.
thanks, i will post a similar warning to my readers.
03/11/09 @ 22:36
Comment from: DotDriven [Visitor] · http://dotdriven.com
I got two of the same emails today as well and thought they were fishy...first one I thought maybe it was just a random interested buyer as I have had those before. But when I got the second email for a different domain with a different name I knew it was some kind of scam.
First name I got was:
Peter Bauer
The second was the same as you got:
Brandon Birdwell
f'n scammers...
First name I got was:
Peter Bauer
The second was the same as you got:
Brandon Birdwell
f'n scammers...
03/11/09 @ 22:46
Comment from: Will [Visitor]
I just got the same email for our domain from Brandon too. Definately a scam of some sort.
03/11/09 @ 22:46
Comment from: Al [Visitor]
Found your blog when I googled his name with 'domain' at the end.
03/11/09 @ 22:56
Comment from: Simon Windmill [Visitor] · http://www.coolpowers.com/
Aww, and here I was hoping I could make a couple of bucks by selling my domains to Mr. Birdwell :(
Thanks for the sleuthing :)
Thanks for the sleuthing :)
03/11/09 @ 23:29
Comment from: verbster [Visitor]
I also just got an inquiry from good ol' Brandon Birdwell. What a joke.
03/12/09 @ 00:06
Comment from: Matt [Visitor]
Yep I got the email as well, good detective work Lisa.
I also found your blog by Googling Mr Birdwell. He's giving you some good traffic by the looks LOL.
I also found your blog by Googling Mr Birdwell. He's giving you some good traffic by the looks LOL.
03/12/09 @ 00:16
Comment from: Harris Fellman [Visitor] · http://harrisfellman.com
I'm not sure I understand what the scam is here? I got the same email this morning - but all that shows is that he's using some sort of a bot (or outsource workers).
I've sold a domain in the past for $15,000 that pretty much started off with this small of a beginning.
And, heck, I've *bought* domains starting with a similiar message too.
So, I dunno - I'm gonna follow through with Birdwell and see what happens. There's a whole business out there around buying & selling domain names.
Harris
I've sold a domain in the past for $15,000 that pretty much started off with this small of a beginning.
And, heck, I've *bought* domains starting with a similiar message too.
So, I dunno - I'm gonna follow through with Birdwell and see what happens. There's a whole business out there around buying & selling domain names.
Harris
03/12/09 @ 00:23
Comment from: king avarez [Visitor] 
Good morning (5:24 am) South African time just got an email from Mr Brandon ...wanting to buy my domain... started doing some investigative work and landed here !!! :).... thank you kindly .... i think i will play this game out with Mr Brandon and see what else i can find out about him .... Cheers !!!
03/12/09 @ 00:29
Comment from: Anuradha [Visitor] · http://101Moments.com
Thanks Lisa
This helped me today when I got Mr Birdwell's mail:-)
This helped me today when I got Mr Birdwell's mail:-)
03/12/09 @ 00:48
Comment from: Patrick Rafter [Visitor] · http://1099communications.com
Wow! You are not alone.
Wonder who Birdwell really is and where he is? To whom do we report this domain scam?
Wonder who Birdwell really is and where he is? To whom do we report this domain scam?
03/12/09 @ 03:06
Comment from: Phil [Visitor] · http://101insights.com
I too received Mr Birdbrain's email. I can usually tell the scammers because of the less than perfect English.
I sure wish these scammers would would get a life.
Ps found this post by searching the scammers name. Thanks
I sure wish these scammers would would get a life.
Ps found this post by searching the scammers name. Thanks
03/12/09 @ 03:39
Comment from: Bobsaver [Visitor]
I found this blog entry by searching for "brandon birdwell" and then by searching for "brandon birdwell scam". I received three at the same time seemingly in alphabetical order - always a clue.
Can't be bothered to work out the scam but suffice to say that Brandon Birdwell is offering to buy domains but is not genuine.
Can't be bothered to work out the scam but suffice to say that Brandon Birdwell is offering to buy domains but is not genuine.
03/12/09 @ 03:56
Comment from: David UK [Visitor]
Thank God I done a quick Google search!
I to received an email from Brandon Birdwell - I am so glad to have found this site!
I cant work out what the scam is here? Does he plan to take your domain names and not pay? Anyone taking his email further?
Thanks for the head up!
I to received an email from Brandon Birdwell - I am so glad to have found this site!
I cant work out what the scam is here? Does he plan to take your domain names and not pay? Anyone taking his email further?
Thanks for the head up!
03/12/09 @ 10:44
Comment from: roger [Visitor] · http://1000anwers.com
Got the same email.. Just going to reply 1.5 mill cash only!
03/12/09 @ 10:44
Comment from: Lou [Visitor]
Googled "Brandon Birdwell" (28,000 searches) but included the word "scam" and Lisa's site was the second listed. Thanks for the help!
From the onset, I was very suspicious of the lower case "m" of the word "my", which starts off the body of "his" letter.
Also, my domain names are private and not listed on whois either!
If anyone finds Mr. Birdwell though, tell him I have some land to sell. Since the Brooklyn Bridge has already been sold 2.3 million times, and it's uncertain who owns it on any given day, I'll sell him something more tangible: the land on either side of it! LOL
From the onset, I was very suspicious of the lower case "m" of the word "my", which starts off the body of "his" letter.
Also, my domain names are private and not listed on whois either!
If anyone finds Mr. Birdwell though, tell him I have some land to sell. Since the Brooklyn Bridge has already been sold 2.3 million times, and it's uncertain who owns it on any given day, I'll sell him something more tangible: the land on either side of it! LOL
03/12/09 @ 10:53
Comment from: Web Guy [Visitor] · http://nothanks.com
2009_03_11
Received the same as above - scam !
Received the same as above - scam !
03/12/09 @ 11:24
Comment from: cigarguy [Visitor] · http://www.1-800cubancigars.com
rec'd the same email, i'll track the ba$tard down!
03/12/09 @ 12:43
I'm glad I googled "Brandon Birdwell" - that's how I found your post!
03/12/09 @ 13:10
Thanks for posting this, Lisa. Just got an email from Brandon Birdwell today.
What's interesting is I just sold a domain name to someone but the interaction in that case was entirely different. It was film producer who wanted the domain name because he was filming a documentary with the same name as the domain I owned. He was gracious and appreciative from the beginning. The whole transaction went smoothly.
Because I like the topic of his documentary he and I are keeping in touch in case I can assist him with publicity (I do PR and viral marketing).
Guess I'm lucky to have a positive experience to use as a comparison. Yeah the Brandon thing has an entirely different vibe.
Smells like Eau du Scam.
Best
Judy Murdoch
Highly Contagious Marketing
Denver, CO
What's interesting is I just sold a domain name to someone but the interaction in that case was entirely different. It was film producer who wanted the domain name because he was filming a documentary with the same name as the domain I owned. He was gracious and appreciative from the beginning. The whole transaction went smoothly.
Because I like the topic of his documentary he and I are keeping in touch in case I can assist him with publicity (I do PR and viral marketing).
Guess I'm lucky to have a positive experience to use as a comparison. Yeah the Brandon thing has an entirely different vibe.
Smells like Eau du Scam.
Best
Judy Murdoch
Highly Contagious Marketing
Denver, CO
03/12/09 @ 13:56
Comment from: Joe Poniatowski [Visitor] · http://1003concepts.com/jp
Yep - just another 'me too' message - I got the email from Mr. Birdwell today, got suspicious for the same reasons everyone else did, and landed here looking for information.
03/12/09 @ 15:11
Comment from: glyn [Visitor]
Return-Path: brandon.birdwell9@gmail.com>
Delivery-Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:52:02 +0100
Received-SPF: neutral (mxeu3: 208.69.122.200 is neither permitted nor denied by domain of gmail.com) client-ip=208.69.122.200; envelope-from=brandon.birdwell9@gmail.com; helo=eatfire.nexcess.net;
Received: from eatfire.nexcess.net (eatfire.nexcess.net [208.69.122.200])
by mx.kundenserver.de (node=mxeu3) with ESMTP (Nemesis)
id 0MKqIe-1LhXHL2qji-000X29 for 11 Mar 2009 23:52:02 +0100
Received: (qmail 12310 invoked by uid 108); 11 Mar 2009 22:32:30 -0000
Received: from unknown (HELO lynksiseastlinkca) (admin fastbooster.com 24.222.131.226)
by eatfire.nexcess.net with ESMTPA; 11 Mar 2009 22:32:30 -0000
Return-Path: brandon.birdwell9@gmail.com
Interesting that your MX record is in the relay for this message!
It maybe that you are being used as an unauthorised relay check your mail server
I advised you and other people posted here to report the matter to gmail (google) as spam / fishing mail and look into why you are in the relay path.... :-)
Delivery-Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:52:02 +0100
Received-SPF: neutral (mxeu3: 208.69.122.200 is neither permitted nor denied by domain of gmail.com) client-ip=208.69.122.200; envelope-from=brandon.birdwell9@gmail.com; helo=eatfire.nexcess.net;
Received: from eatfire.nexcess.net (eatfire.nexcess.net [208.69.122.200])
by mx.kundenserver.de (node=mxeu3) with ESMTP (Nemesis)
id 0MKqIe-1LhXHL2qji-000X29 for 11 Mar 2009 23:52:02 +0100
Received: (qmail 12310 invoked by uid 108); 11 Mar 2009 22:32:30 -0000
Received: from unknown (HELO lynksiseastlinkca) (admin fastbooster.com 24.222.131.226)
by eatfire.nexcess.net with ESMTPA; 11 Mar 2009 22:32:30 -0000
Return-Path: brandon.birdwell9@gmail.com
Interesting that your MX record is in the relay for this message!
It maybe that you are being used as an unauthorised relay check your mail server
I advised you and other people posted here to report the matter to gmail (google) as spam / fishing mail and look into why you are in the relay path.... :-)
03/12/09 @ 17:25
Comment from: C [Visitor]
My email from Brandon asked to buy a domain that had expired months ago.
03/12/09 @ 17:31
Comment from: Joseph [Visitor] · http://www.DishTvDeal.com
Received the exact offer for a 1-888-# domain. My first thought was its the company I order appraisals from.
Sounds fishy anyway. Probably a new tact from those clowns in Nigeria and elsewhere trying to get personal info.
Sounds fishy anyway. Probably a new tact from those clowns in Nigeria and elsewhere trying to get personal info.
03/12/09 @ 18:14
Comment from: Another recipient [Visitor]
Another me too!
Reply and he'll probably send you a check for $20,000 for the domain, but only if you western union him back $5,000 the same day.
Reply and he'll probably send you a check for $20,000 for the domain, but only if you western union him back $5,000 the same day.
03/12/09 @ 21:50
Comment from: M [Visitor]
mine came from brandon.birdwell9@gmail.com
looks like spamware was used to send it -->
X-Mailer: SendBlaster.1.5.5
looks like spamware was used to send it -->
X-Mailer: SendBlaster.1.5.5
03/12/09 @ 23:28
Comment from: Todd [Visitor] · http://1-2-1-free-cell-phones.com
I got this bird freaks email too, Didnt seem right so a quick google and here we are - What a dumb@ss scam
03/13/09 @ 01:15
Comment from: olopsman [Visitor] · http://blog.lopau.com
hey just got the same thing, google didn't show up anything on mr brandon birdwell. nice finding your post.
03/13/09 @ 03:15
Comment from: Big Blog [Visitor] · http://www.gaming.bigblog.com.au
I received the exact same email from this guy: same email with same name. Is it a junk email sending around in bulk?
03/13/09 @ 12:15
Comment from: Charlie Star [Visitor]
You're right. Something smells fish, and it isn't the TUNA! I saw this scam about 9 years ago in 1999, only it was a different name, and they used a yahoo email account. But when I sold a site for $2,000,000 a couple of years ago, I felt I may of undervalued it. :-(
03/13/09 @ 12:36
Comment from: MitchB [Visitor]
Wow, aren't some of you getting a bit over-excited.
Granted, this is more than likely a scam, but domain ownership and the transfer process is quite safe and secure. And should you decide to transfer, handle it through your Registrar (read more here: http://help.godaddy.com/topic/609) or through escrow if you're a DIYer (read more here: (https://www.escrow.com/solutions/domain_name/process.asp).
And for heaven's sake, wasting your time blabbing on about this like you're all helpless victims is absurd and only distorts and convolutes the safety that exists.
________________________________________________________________________________________
That said, it's nice to have blog posts letting us know "Birdwell" is a possible scammer, so we don't waste time.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Keep your registration info up to date with your registrar and your domains locked will keep you safe from the boogy man should he come calling ... and, really "cigarguy" ... would you REALLY waste time tracking this ... then what!
Granted, this is more than likely a scam, but domain ownership and the transfer process is quite safe and secure. And should you decide to transfer, handle it through your Registrar (read more here: http://help.godaddy.com/topic/609) or through escrow if you're a DIYer (read more here: (https://www.escrow.com/solutions/domain_name/process.asp).
And for heaven's sake, wasting your time blabbing on about this like you're all helpless victims is absurd and only distorts and convolutes the safety that exists.
________________________________________________________________________________________
That said, it's nice to have blog posts letting us know "Birdwell" is a possible scammer, so we don't waste time.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Keep your registration info up to date with your registrar and your domains locked will keep you safe from the boogy man should he come calling ... and, really "cigarguy" ... would you REALLY waste time tracking this ... then what!
03/13/09 @ 12:40
Comment from: Matt [Visitor]
I received the same email, I sent a report to the Internet Police - Internic and requested them follow up on it.
03/13/09 @ 13:44
Comment from: Scott Wilk [Visitor]
On 3/11/09, I also received this exact email. Something is very odd about this. Bad news, this guy.
03/13/09 @ 14:29
I received the exact same email from this guy: same email with same name. Seller Beware.
03/13/09 @ 16:52
Yes I too received an email regarding a 1-G....com domain name.
I googled to find this post but I agree with MitchB above. So I emailed back to see what happens.
I'll report back if I get a response. I should put a price of $2M like Charlie Star above eh? ;)
Lordy
I googled to find this post but I agree with MitchB above. So I emailed back to see what happens.
I'll report back if I get a response. I should put a price of $2M like Charlie Star above eh? ;)
Lordy
03/13/09 @ 22:42
Comment from: BG [Visitor] · http://www.Breaks.com
I have also just received an email.
These scams are very common, all he will do is ask you if your name is for sale (which he did). You then reply with yes it is for sale, this is my asking price or make me an offer. Then they will reply with something like, ok, I'm prepared to purchase your domain for £500K, but before i do so I would like to get it valued using " X Company " (X Company being them). They will say some crap like its only $49, next thing you know you've folked out $49 for a fake appraisal and guess what... No more communication from the scammer!
Just my two pence worth guys.
Regards, BG
These scams are very common, all he will do is ask you if your name is for sale (which he did). You then reply with yes it is for sale, this is my asking price or make me an offer. Then they will reply with something like, ok, I'm prepared to purchase your domain for £500K, but before i do so I would like to get it valued using " X Company " (X Company being them). They will say some crap like its only $49, next thing you know you've folked out $49 for a fake appraisal and guess what... No more communication from the scammer!
Just my two pence worth guys.
Regards, BG
03/14/09 @ 02:06
Comment from: Brandon BIRDWELL NOT [Visitor]
HI,
Just received the same email. This guy is busy! Somebody please inform gmail to shut down his account. Sounds like a Nigerian scam...
His email is brandon.birdwell9@gmail.com -
Care to drop a little note to this con-man?
Just received the same email. This guy is busy! Somebody please inform gmail to shut down his account. Sounds like a Nigerian scam...
His email is brandon.birdwell9@gmail.com -
Care to drop a little note to this con-man?
03/14/09 @ 05:58
Comment from: Barry Reeves [Visitor] · http://earning-a-living-on-the-web.blogspot.com/
I received the same email last week from Brandon Birdwell wanting to buy one of my domain names. I've received emails out of the blue like this in the past. I actually did sell one a couple of years ago for $750 that started out much like this. I always reply back and tell them to make me an offer. Most of course never respond back and a few expect you to sell a good domain for practically nothing.
Anyway, I replied to My. Birdwell's email last Wednesday and asked him to make me an offer. Well I received his reply this morning and all it said was "200,000?".
At first I thought, "It's party time!!!". But then I thought to myself, this can't be legitimate. So I started searching around the web to see what I could find out about this Mr. Birdwell and stumbled upon this site. I guess it was too good to be true. Be careful out there.
Regards,
Barry Reeves
Anyway, I replied to My. Birdwell's email last Wednesday and asked him to make me an offer. Well I received his reply this morning and all it said was "200,000?".
At first I thought, "It's party time!!!". But then I thought to myself, this can't be legitimate. So I started searching around the web to see what I could find out about this Mr. Birdwell and stumbled upon this site. I guess it was too good to be true. Be careful out there.
Regards,
Barry Reeves
03/14/09 @ 11:53
Comment from: Matt [Visitor]
I just got the same email from Mr. Birdwell. Thank you so much for posting this. Much like most of you, I was skeptical, but I could use the extra money :)
Take Care
Matt
Take Care
Matt
03/14/09 @ 20:05
Comment from: josh [Visitor] · http://www.1000wordsmedia.com
yep. got the same email from Mr Birdwell.
03/14/09 @ 23:33
Comment from: tj [Visitor] · http://www.1066cruisers.com
Very glad I'm not alone! Mr Birwell can have my domain for 10 million and I'll share it with you all :-)
glad I googled his name. Although it makes a nice change not to get an email trying to sell me pills to improve my........... ;-)
best wishes
Tim
glad I googled his name. Although it makes a nice change not to get an email trying to sell me pills to improve my........... ;-)
best wishes
Tim
03/15/09 @ 06:23
Comment from: Conrad Longmore [Visitor] · http://www.dynamoo.com/
I think this might be a different pitch from the same outfit:
http://www.dynamoo.com/blog/2009/03/pedmacom-domain-appraisals.html
http://www.dynamoo.com/blog/2009/03/pedmacom-domain-appraisals.html
03/17/09 @ 09:30
Comment from: Jingshao Chen [Visitor] · http://100reason.com
Yes. I got the same email from Mr. Brandon Birdwell. The next thing I did was googling it and got here. Nice.
03/20/09 @ 10:46
Comment from: Brian DeMars [Visitor]
I got the "do you want to sell your domain name" message too. Of course, I've gotten these types of emails from real people actually interested in a name, and sometimes they actually buy, but the domain he was asking about expired 7 months ago -- I don't own it anymore.
03/21/09 @ 23:55
Comment from: Cok Tri [Visitor] · http://www.balivillashotels.com
I've got the same email but not from Mr. Brandon Birdwell, this time is from Mr. Kevin Parker. I guess Mr. Birdwell got competitor now lol...
06/01/09 @ 02:29
Comment from: kevin Thorne [Visitor]
thanks -- I got the same email, only I was being asked for just $30 for the domain. IAfter reading the accounts above, I checked, and could buy the domain through my usual account and got it for $7.97!
06/15/09 @ 07:38
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