DNS BE received several complaints of Belgian business and organisations that own a domain name. They receive letters asking them to pass on their company and website details, or to check the details provided. Finally they are asked to sign and send the letter back to the sender so that these details can be included in an online business directory.
In their letters (see example), these so-say Internet registers or directories use visual and copy elements that could easily be mistaken as being associated with official directory and/or Internet providers in Belgium.
Those companies/organisations that fill in the details in the letter, then sign and send it back to the sender do so assuming that they are dealing with an official Belgian organisation. In actual fact, though, they are signing a purchase order for their details to be included in one or other online business "directory". Having signed on the dotted line, as it were, they then receive an invoice and/or bank transfer request for the cost of including their details in the directory.
DNS BE advises individuals or businesses that receive letters or registration forms of this kind to go through them very carefully before sending back the signed form. Also, if they have any questions about the management of their domain name, they should always get in contact with their accredited, genuinely official, DNS BE registrar. A list of the registrars can be found on our website www.dns.be.
We already encountered this kind of practices in the past. An overview can be found here.
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