If you have a website domain registered to you then just prior to it’s renewal period you may receive a letter purporting to be a "Domain Name Expiration Notice” requesting you renew your domain by a particular date.

WARNING – READ THE NOTICE CAREFULLY.

Some Domain Name Expiration Notices are sent by competing companies who may know your domain name, the expiry date, your registration details, and other information and instead of being simple reminders what they are actually asking you do to is TRANSFER your domain AWAY from your existing provider.

The letter may start “As a courtesy to domain name holders, we are sending you this notification of the domain name registration that is due to expire in the next few months.”

A simple payment form will be attached offering a quick and easy way to renew your domain. If you are busy and just skim the form you might think this is a renewal form and by completing the form you might then be under the impression you have safely renewed your domain – however what you may actually have done is transferred your domain away from your trusted partner. Aside from the inconvenience, the real downside is that you may end up paying a lot more for your domain than you originally anticipated.

The best advice is to renew your domain directly with your domain provider and always read the documentation carefully. If your domain provider has an anonymity option on its database, often called a WHOIS PRIVACY, it might be worth signing up to it so at least these transfer companies can’t easily get at your personal information.