I'm unemployed, desperate & homeless! Please return my domain name!

[lzy]

So I received an email from the previous owner of a domain name I've acquired via TDNAM, demanding that I handover his "virtual home" and at the same time describing how pitiful he is;

Getting fired from his job, unable to pay the mortgage of his home and yet...

..threatens to email everyone he knows about my deed then when I offered a solution to his problem (being unable to access the email for his domain name).

He refused and threatened to use his last sum of money to buy a one way ticket to my country to look for me and depend on me for food & shelter unless I return him his domain name.

He ended up offering $100 for the name and when I refused his offer (having paid way more and with him being so absolutely ludicrous), he's now asking me where he should go, having no money left.

So what do you guys think? Fact or fiction? How should I reply him?

 

[Vito]

Wow,

I'm almost speechless.
lol

If he can get to your country,
Have him come to your house and work for it.
...If it means THAT much to him.

These email stories get weirder by the day!!!
lol
But yet, very entertaining!

I'd bet $100.00 it IS B.S. though!

edit...
Hmmmm Why would he only offer $100.00
but yet still threaten to come to your country for his domain?
It is going to cost him 5-10 times that much just to make the trip!
It is BS...

 

[deet]

looks like you made a new friend?

either that or this person is really bored.

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

I suggest reporting this to GoDaddy.

I would think they would take cyberstalking very seriously.

Other possibility: this is a scam.

*

 

[Whogister]

Find out where he lives and report his actions to his local police...
He'll change his tune really fast when the PO-PO show up at his door!

 

[Steven]

What's the domain name? Maybe the internet detectives can find out more information about the domain name and its previous owner.

 

[mis_chiff]

I would ask him:

Why was it listed for sale if he didn't want to sell it??
How did it get listed at TDNAM?

and if it was through a drop/expiry...
why didn't he just pay the $7 bucks

then I would tell him I'm keeping the emails he threatened
me in and forwarding them to his local police station for
cyber threats.....

and then I would tell him to have a nice day!!!

 

[Seabass]

I've had a couple, three of these "the world is ending" in my time. Each time, suprisingly, when I offered to return it.....they disappeared. I'm not sure why. It almost felt like a test. In all cases, each domain was nothing I was terribly excited to keep and I asked for my investment price back at least. If it was a good domain I wanted to keep.....I would probably say tough luck.

What does Archive.org say about his old site? Was there an active site that he may have been doing biz with?

If he is really acting as silly as you say.....maybe it is better to quit responding.

 

[banners]

I suspect a scam but either way. If it was his he let it expire. There is no excuse.


id just ignore him

 

[ripley]

If you want, drop me a PM with the domain and I'll look up its history on DomainTools for you.

ripley.

 

[dtxa]

It's a scam, I buy domains on tdnam often and I get an email similar to this whenever I win an auction with a lot of bidders. Besides, if he was really the owner he would have noticed that godaddy redirected his domain was redirected to a big "click here to renew" page a long time ago.

 

[-Adam-]

If it's legit tell him to call 211 or goto 211.org - It's a free referral service that provides information to agencies that can assist him with his troubles.

 

[Dave_Z]

he's now asking me where he should go, having no money left.

Tell him to use whatever money he has left to focus on getting a new job or
put up his own business. You don't owe him anything, although you can help
somehow if you wish.

 

[Spade]

If you think the story is legit, I might recommend setting up his old email address for him as a courtesy. But the bottom line is that its his mistake if it is true and your under no obligation to assist him.

 

[lzy]

If you want, drop me a PM with the domain and I'll look up its history on DomainTools for you.

ripley.

Thanks for your kind offer. PM on its way.

If you think the story is legit, I might recommend setting up his old email address for him as a courtesy. But the bottom line is that its his mistake if it is true and your under no obligation to assist him.

That's exactly what I offered to do for him at no charge. And he outright refused to accept my offer and demanded me to return his 'virtual home' instead.

 

[cobainer]

That's exactly what I offered to do for him at no charge. And he outright refused to accept my offer and demanded me to return his 'virtual home' instead.

In that case, tell him "It was nice knowing you. Have a nice day."

 

[DJ-Sound]

Don't tell him anything, in fact mark his email as spam and go about your day.

 

[vlad74]

I once was contacted by a previous owner (two exciting emails overnight) asking to return a domain (which I won on TDNAM).

My first reaction was - it is a scam. I exchanged however few emails, and we agreed that he pays me the amount I paid at TDNAM (incl. regfe) + $50 my fee + 10% sedo escrow. The guy turned out to be a well mannered businessman, the transaction went smoothly. Therefore it might be initially looking suspicious, but some people might really forgot to extend their domains and ready to pay a premium to get them back.

 

[Spade]

I once was contacted by a previous owner (two exciting emails overnight) asking to return a domain (which I won on TDNAM).

My first reaction was - it is a scam. I exchanged however few emails, and we agreed that he pays me the amount I paid at TDNAM (incl. regfe) + $50 my fee + 10% sedo escrow. The guy turned out to be a well mannered businessman, the transaction went smoothly. Therefore it might be initially looking suspicious, but some people might really forgot to extend their domains and ready to pay a premium to get them back.

I typically will not even respond to people who claim its their old domain. Currently, im dealing with one. What I quote a price for on a domain name is ususally well beyond anything they had imagined and it ususally creates hostility. I simply tell them, its not for sale and move on to a "real" buyer.

 

[Kate]

Tell him to sort this out with godaddy.