Ignored the marketing emails and within a week had the domain purchased via GoDaddy for under $12.00.

I was propositioned by “Arthur” in November 2010 and unfortunately was away from computers in hospital at the time, and now I find that my domain hsa lapsed, been registered by an anonymous (WHOIS blocked) party and shows up as some bogus site that links to a grab-bag of companies in Sweden (!!!).

See http://www.aforgottenodyssey.com

I owned this for 10 years, it is used for international sales of a non-profit documentary film, and I still own http://www.aforgottenodyssey.org for what that’s worth.

Should I go down the path of an ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution process? It will cost me at least $1500 (!) – money that I do not have…

Thanks
Stefan

“Keep in mind, just as you can got to this domain and purchase it for the reduced price, so can anyone else in the world. If you go to the domain and it does not display an order page, that means the domain has been purchased and it is no longer for sale.

If you choose the invoice me option the domain will continue to be for sale until we receive payment via check, wire, credit card or Paypal.

Thanks and have a great day!

Jeremiah Stephens
Intrust Domains
11605 Meridian Market View #124-134
Falcon, CO 80831
(719) 344-2953
001-719-344-2953(international)
jeremiah@intrustdomains.com“

They sent a congratulatory email saying I won the auction and that I should click on the website of the domain and that if I see an order form, I can place the payment online or call them. Well, guess what…all that’s there was a “page does not exist” warning. I called them out of curiosity and their phone number in Colorado picks up immediately with an automatic greeting that start halfway into the recorded greeting. Unprofessional and fishy.

I looked up the domain on WHOIS and found that it’s actually for sale for “$69″ and found the following information:

Date Registered: 03/26/11
Date Modified: 03/28/11
Expiry Date: 03/26/13
DNS1: FOR-SALE-AT.INTRUSTDOMAINS.COM
DNS2: CALL.303-800-0310.COM

Registrant
Mark Peters
Wesley Hayes
Hollandse kade 7a
Abcoude, (NL)
1391 JD

Administrative Contact
Rose McCaige
11605 Meridian Market View #124-134
Falcon, CO (US)
80831
303-800-0310

So if won the auction on 3/27/11, why was it registered a day earlier for two years? Does that strike anyone else as suspicious?

I also got two calls today from “Mark” at Intrust Domains who basically encouraged me very kindly to “pay now” on his voice mail message to me.

One thing that should be glaringly obvious to everyone is the rather cheesy setup for their site and rather unprofessional emails. The site is clearly set up by someone who knows basic HTML and nothing else, using “Free Use” photos that make them look really pathetic. Compare them to WHOIS, Godaddy or any other notable domain registry and they look both incompetent and pathetic.

After reading about their scams and weird business operation…and the fact that it’s hard to pin them to any specific country in which they operate, then anyone getting duped by them at this point deserves to lose their money…no offense to anyone who got fooled by them earlier.

There are too many obvious signs that they’re a scam company, and far too many posts about them online to complain that there was no way to know.

If you want to back-order a domain, do it through a legitimate site that has a strong presence and reputation. Would you buy a car from Earl the Car Guy? Hell no. Why would you buy from “InTrust Domains”? As someone said earlier, don’t trust anyone who immediately tells you to trust them.

Oh, last note…what kind of idiotic organization sends an email saying, “To check our business references, please refer to the Better Business Bureau.” That implies you don’t have much credibility in the first place.

Looks like Arthur is now Alex?

Priority Domain Availability Notice for xxxxxxxx.com:

In the next few days, xxxxxx.com will be listed for sale. Since you have a similar domain name, I thought you might be interested in acquiring xxxxxxxxx.com

You can confirm your interest in the domain xxxxxxxx.com by filling out the form here: http://TN-INVEST.COM/d2c85155093f476f.120

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Sincerely,Alexander
Mail Forward:
2637 E Atlantic Blvd #16493
Pompano Beach, FL 33062

This email is a business proposal. If you don’t want to receive this type of notification in the future, please click the following link, and you will be removed from future notifications immediately -http://TN-INVEST.COM/1/d2c85155093f476f.120

Most find my priority domain notice system to be very useful. If you prefer not to receive these messages, please simply send me a quick email and I’ll be sure you don’t receive any more.

I wouldn’t hesitate to make another domain purchase, if I found a domain I wanted owned by Intrust Domains. If someone asked about it, I would relay my successful experience.

Very easy to deal with and strait forward.

…InTrust to be worthy of trust! Their job is highly-efficient.

His first email: Priority Domain Availability Notice for XXXXX.com:

In the next few days, XXXXX.com will be listed for sale. Since you have a similar domain name, I thought you might be interested in acquiring XXXXX.com.

You can confirm your interest in the domain XXXXX.com by filling out the form here: http://GREYPLACE.COM/8965450f1e764a34.120

After I receive a confirmation that you are interested in the domain XXXXX.com, I will be in touch with you promptly to make arrangements.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Sincerely,Arthur S.
3472 Research Parkway, Suite 104
Colorado Springs, CO 80920

This email is a business proposal. If you don’t want to receive this type of notification in the future, please click the following link, and you will be removed from future notifications immediately -http://GREYPLACE.COM/1/8965450f1e764a34.120

Most find my priority domain notice system to be very useful. If you prefer not to receive these messages, please simply send me a quick email and I’ll be sure you don’t receive any more.

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall. — Stephen Covey

—–

This email was followed up with invitations to place a silent bid, and then another offering me the opportunity to increase my bid etc …

A few days later, I’ve received a form indicating that I’m the highest bidder and am welcome to proceed to Checkout using credit card, paypal, etc … All very official looking pages (Intrust Domains) with all sorts of clickable security guarantee certificates along the side of the page …. I’m glad I did some googling of his name and found this blog … Saved me from getting scammed.

Arthur S.
2316 North Wahsatch Avenue, Suite 108
Colorado Springs, CO 80907