Conmen have hijacked the name of domain registrar Melbourne IT in an attempt to get their hands on renewal payments for domain names.
The fraudsters are targeting holders of global domain names, including those ending in the suffix .com and .biz.

An email that purports to come from Melbourne IT, which is accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) and works with more than 700 resellers worldwide, tells customers that their domain names need to be renewed.

But the rogue email incorrectly insists that, no matter which reseller they registered their name through, they must now make their payments online directly to Melbourne IT.

Customers are then directed to a bogus website to enter their credit card details.