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Domain Auction Front Running - Hall Of Shame

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The practice of domain auction front running occurs when someone attempts to solicit offers from potential buyers for the purchase of a domain name which the front runner does not own, either in advance of the domain being auctioned, or while a domain auction is taking place. The front runner hopes to profit without risk by securing buyer interest in a domain they have no title to, before the auction ends.

Domain auction front running is widely frowned upon by the vast majority of domain investors and has been described by one of the top domain bloggers as, "a black mark on the domain industry".

Some problems with domain auction front running include ...
  • It is unethical, since the front runner falsely represents themselves as the owner of a domain, or as having rights to the sale of a domain which they do not in fact own nor have any rights to
  • It may pose serious legal risk to the actual owner or future owner of the domain, e.g. when the front runner solicits companies with competing IP or Trademark interests in the name, which could trigger such companies into dragging the domain into a UDRP. (c.f. this real world example)
  • It can have a negative impact on the value or resale potential of the domain in question
HALL OF SHAME

This forum thread is intended to call out domain auction front runners among their industry peers and to provide a public record of such activity, in an effort to help deter those who might otherwise consider engaging in this unethical practice from so doing in the future.

All NamePros members are welcome to post to this thread to publicly name and shame known domain auction front runners.

IMPORTANT: You must have undeniable proof of the activity, and provide evidence in the form of screenshots to document any case of front running. This is not the place for speculation nor to make loose accusations. Any unsubstantiated claims will be requested to be removed by forum moderators.

Additionally, it is requested that members also refrain from leaving derogatory comments, engaging in gossip, or excessive small talk which might clutter the thread and diminish it's value.

It is essential that as a community we seek to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards, and it is with that purpose in mind that this thread has been started.

Being named in this thread as a domain auction front runner, which will then be indexed by search engines, where potential buyers or other business contacts might find you, could lead to a loss of reputation and business. Therefore anyone currently engaging in domain auction front running is strongly encouraged to abandon the practice now. It really is not worth trying to take the 'easy way', and it will be better for you in the long run if your success is well earned.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
IMPORTANT: You must have undeniable proof of the activity, and provide evidence in the form of screenshots to document any case of front running.

I think there will be few to no posts in this thread.
 
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IMPORTANT: You must have undeniable proof of the activity, and provide evidence in the form of screenshots to document any case of front running.

I think there will be few to no posts in this thread.

Plus the fact domain front running can never be prevented. Only an idiot is using their real name.
 
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are you talking about those spammers that send you emails about names that are similar to one you own?
 
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are you talking about those spammers that send you emails about names that are similar to one you own?
Let them keep up the good work :) LOL. I periodically (hand)register those domains they "promote" (all in redemption/pendingdelete actually) after they drop. A small number of handregs, but still...
 
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If they read this - please keep up the good work :) LOL. I periodically (hand)register those domains they "promote" (all in redemption/pendingdelete actually) after they drop. A small number of handregs, but still...
ha me too! sometimes they email me a name that I didn't renew because I have the way better version and its not worth to have both of that name
 
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ha me too! sometimes they email me a name that I didn't renew because I have the way better version and its not worth to have both of that name

Me too :) All of those offers go straight in the Junk Mail. I'm not really interested to look at 5000 emails for the one gem, which if you express any interest in, goes up in price. It's a farce.
 
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Presented here is evidence that the following party has repeatedly committed domain auction front running:

Company: Domain Lions (aka DomainLions)
Site: DomainLions.com
Address: 2311 Almondwood Ave, Lancaster, California 93535, US
Phone: 1 661 505 9573
Email: [email protected], [email protected]

People involved: David Pavel, (website testimonials also show a 'Nadia')
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DomainLions

Supporting Facts:

I own the domain name DomainConsultant.net. On June 18, 2020, I received an email from GoDaddy through the whois contact form for that domain, titled "Someone Asked About Your Domain". Here is the content of the message:

Hi, we are selling the domain DOMAINCONSULTANT.COM. If you are interested, please visit https://domainlions.com/offer/domainconsultant.com. Kind regards, David Pavel

Here is a screenshot of the email I received: https://snipboard.io/Rqp8WI.jpg

At the time this message was sent, DomainConsultant.com was just entering pending delete, meaning that they were attempting to solicit offers for a domain they did not own.

The landing page that they linked to now says, "offer for domainconsultant.com has now expired". However, here are two screenshots showing the offer form that was there:

screenshot 1: https://snipboard.io/s0qXwt.jpg
screenshot 2: https://snipboard.io/q4uGtA.jpg

(FYI: DomainConsultant.com was caught by DropCatch on June 22, 2020, and closed on June 25 for $4,594)

On June 26, 2020, the same date I created this thread, just after creating it, I sent the following email reply to David Pavel:

Hello,

I saw that DomainConsultant.com which you contacted me about was pending deletion at the time you contacted me, and subsequently auctioned at DropCatch.

What you are doing is known as 'front running', and I just wanted to let you know that I did notify DropCatch support to make them aware of it.

Additionally, I have just set up a thread at NamePros to publicly name and shame those engaged in domain auction front running.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/domain-auction-front-running-hall-of-shame.1197035/

I do not plan on submitting your name or website to this thread, but will not hesitate to do so in the future if it ever comes to my attention again that you're still engaged in front running.

For now, this is just to serve as a caution, and to say that I hope you will give serious thought to abandoning this unethical practice.

kind regards,

Now you know the real reason that I set up this thread, to begin with. I sought to give David Pavel of DomainLions the benefit of the doubt, and a chance to make him aware in case he was not, about the implications of domain auction front running, so as to give him another chance. However, as I made clear, if there was a second strike, then I'd go forward with naming and shaming.

On July 19, 2020, not more than a month later, I received another email from [email protected] through the whois contact form for my domain KKGroup.org, inviting me to make an offer on the pending delete domain KKGroup.net. Here is what it said:


Here is the screenshot: https://snipboard.io/Hn3ifk.jpg

After doing a bit more research, I uncovered more evidence of another domain he tried to front run: https://www.trianglefamilychurch.org/2020/05/

Verdict: Guilty
 
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I got contacted by the Domainslion guy (David) asking to contact me.

Is there a risk to responding?

upload_2020-9-27_15-40-16.png
 
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Move on. You can't stop this, just like you can't stop time either.

Looks to me like you were given a heads up about not one but two EMD TLD's becoming available that match domains you own. Just being practical, as that might be good info you got for free.
 
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A new blog post from OnlineDomain makes substantial allegations that Steen Hof, owner of Level2 and affiliated with mf-media.com operating under an alias 'Sam Ricks' is guilty of domain auction front running.

Steen goes under the username 'MarkMon' at Namejet. He is apparently front running auctions at NameJet, DropCatch, and GoDaddy. Here is a link to the article:

https://onlinedomain.com/2020/11/11/domain-name-news/front-running-by-steen-hof-aka-markmon/

The article also cites a number of other NamePros posts that have called out MarkMon aka Steen Hof in the past.
 
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Let them keep up the good work :) LOL. I periodically (hand)register those domains they "promote" (all in redemption/pendingdelete actually) after they drop. A small number of handregs, but still...

Yep. I do too. I wouldn't say how frequently, because mostly they are offering crap domains. But just in the last few days I got a singular domain offered to me, after I'd just drop caught the plural. The singular is now expired for 30 days. I'm going to drop catch that too. Not very valuable, but I acquired the plural for my possible own use, and the singular would be better suited :)
 
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Here is the message from [email protected]. Once again, this is NOT from a GoDaddy representative. GoDaddy does not authorize or verify any offers to sell or purchase domains via email.

I would like to contact you regarding your domain and/or content on your website.

If you would like to respond to the requester, please email them at [email protected].


got too :rolleyes:
 
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Alas! I also got a notification from Godaddy to contact David from domainlions and stupidly I have responded🙃
 
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I just got a notice from GoDaddy as well from Domain Lions implying interest in a domain. What's interesting is the email address given to respond to is literally Domain lions with an added "w" the "+" sign followed by my domain @ gmail, so.....
DomainLionsw+"my domain"@gmail.com
Seems this is an attempt to not be so blatant or traceable about unethical practices?
 
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Today I received two emails in two different accounts, one from David Pavel and the other from June Kutch, asking that I purchase a name "up for sale soon" similar to the one I have (singular). There is no domain attached.
It is a very strange request and I have no interest in buying from a hawker that seems suspiciously fraudulent. Should I do anything about these emails or ignore and delete?
 
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almost got sued by oracle because some idiot decided to try and sell them a name i own that infringe on their 'trademark' (according to their law firm) had to explain to the lawyer what 'front running' is
 
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Should I do anything about these emails or ignore and delete?
If you wish to own the domain in question - it would be released soon, and it does not have any owner at this time. Previous owner failed to renew it. If so, you should backorder it (an exact website or websites to place the backorder depends on the domain and its actual status). You do not need David or Pavel serving as a proxy.
*do not post the domain here, it may attract unnecessary attention and decrease your chances to grab it*
If you do not need the domain in question - just delete these emails...
 
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If you wish to own the domain in question - it would be released soon, and it does not have any owner at this time. Previous owner failed to renew it. If so, you should backorder it (an exact website or websites to place the backorder depends on the domain and its actual status). You do not need David or Pavel serving as a proxy.
*do not post the domain here, it may attract unnecessary attention and decrease your chances to grab it*
If you do not need the domain in question - just delete these emails...
 
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Hi tonyk2000 for your advice. I will take it as you suggest. DELETE is the answer.
I have many options (created by me) that I could not use all of them if I lived to be 100. I appreciate you and your generosity. Have a great day.
 
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Today I received two emails in two different accounts, one from David Pavel and the other from June Kutch, asking that I purchase a name "up for sale soon" similar to the one I have (singular). There is no domain attached.
It is a very strange request and I have no interest in buying from a hawker that seems suspiciously fraudulent. Should I do anything about these emails or ignore and delete?

Safe to ignore. I don't believe it's technically fraud, although it is a form of misrepresentation, but primarily just an unethical business practice
 
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Safe to ignore. I don't believe it's technically fraud, although it is a form of misrepresentation, but primarily just an unethical business practice
Thanks for your input. It is disturbing for me as this is the first time I received such a request. It is great that you good guys are ready to help with information. You are totaly appreciated. Enjoy a great day. You deserve it. Reeismarie xx
 
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Today I got same offer from David for one pending delete domain which is available for backorder.
 
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