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Namecheap and others banning coronavirus domains

Kevin Murphy, March 26, 2020, 13:44:42 (UTC), Domain Registrars

Anyone wanting to buy a coronavirus-related domain for scamming purposes won’t be able to do it via Namecheap, which has preemptively banned keyword domains on its storefront.

For the last several days, the registrar has rejiggered its web site to prevent customers adding domains containing certain keywords — such as “coronavirus” or “covid” or “vaccine” — to their shopping carts.

The company said today that customers wishing to register such domains for legitimate purposes can continue to do so by calling up Namecheap customer service and having the name registered manually.

CEO Richard Kirkendall said in an email to customers that Namecheap is also “actively working with authorities to both proactively prevent, and take down, any fraudulent or abusive domains or websites related to COVID19”.

A GoDaddy spokesperson told DI this week that it has also taken down domains when alerted to their usage as coronavirus scams.

Meanwhile, .uk registry Nominet said that it has added keywords such as “coronavirus” and “covid” to its Domain Watch initiative, the same semi-automated system it uses to flag and suspend phishing and “rape” domains preemptively at point of registration. Nominet said:

Those that look suspicious — based on our algorithm and then a manual check — are suspended until we see evidence of good intentions from the registrants.

So far, we have suspended over 180 domains while we conduct this extra due diligence. A small proportion responded to our satisfaction and had their domain names reactivated. It’s highly likely that those who did not respond were intending to use their domains to manipulate a public in need of information.

Another domain company taking action is aftermarket site Dan.com, which today said on Twitter that it will remove all coronavirus related domains from its marketplace.

Namecheap is also offering some customers payment flexibility when it comes to some products — largely non-domain products such as hosting — if they can convince customer service reps of their coronavirus-related financial hardship.

“I urge you not to abuse this offer, please allow it to be used by those who need it most, who are otherwise unable to pay,” Kirkendall wrote.

Verisign, the .com registry, yesterday hinted that it will be offering its registrars some similar flexibility, which one assumes could be passed on to registrants.

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