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question Is direct contact via GoDaddy often spam?

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TheFreedomChaser

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I am a newbie and a bit cautious when it comes to online security. Keen to hear if anyone thinks the below is my very first lead….or a red flag!

Earlier today I received an email from GoDaddy which looks legit below, it starts with:

‘Someone is trying to contact you regarding xxx.com.

We received a request from someone who'd like to contact you regarding xxx.com, which you registered through GoDaddy. This contact method is designed to provide a way for people who are interested in your domain to reach you, while still keeping your contact information private.’

It also includes the email address of the party who wants to get in contact and their message:

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

Is this normal? Or just a typical spam technique targeting domain owners?
 
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I am a newbie and a bit cautious when it comes to online security. Keen to hear if anyone thinks the below is my very first lead….or a red flag!

Earlier today I received an email from GoDaddy which looks legit below, it starts with:

‘Someone is trying to contact you regarding xxx.com.

We received a request from someone who'd like to contact you regarding xxx.com, which you registered through GoDaddy. This contact method is designed to provide a way for people who are interested in your domain to reach you, while still keeping your contact information private.’

It also includes the email address of the party who wants to get in contact and their message:

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

Is this normal? Or just a typical spam technique targeting domain owners?
That is hard to say.
I have dealt with spam email supposedly coming from GoDaddy, with a statement that there was an offer for a domain.
The simplest thing to do is to call GoDaddy to check with them directly. If they say they didn't send the email, it may be reasonable to simply ignore the message. Forwarding it to a GD fraud or security department might be prudent in such a case.
Alternatively, or in addition (in case GoDaddy's customer support might miss a legitimate email communication), you could also send an email to the address given, but one would have to be very wary of clicking on the email response.
If your domain is listed on a marketplace, simply sending an email indicating the marketplace might be a more secure approach.
 
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I am a newbie and a bit cautious when it comes to online security. Keen to hear if anyone thinks the below is my very first lead….or a red flag!

Earlier today I received an email from GoDaddy which looks legit below, it starts with:

‘Someone is trying to contact you regarding xxx.com.

We received a request from someone who'd like to contact you regarding xxx.com, which you registered through GoDaddy. This contact method is designed to provide a way for people who are interested in your domain to reach you, while still keeping your contact information private.’

It also includes the email address of the party who wants to get in contact and their message:

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

Is this normal? Or just a typical spam technique targeting domain owners?
Spam .
 
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Update: I called GoDaddy and their email was real. I now just wonder if the actual enquiry is legit …
 
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Yeah, the wording you provided is definitely from GoDaddy. Plus it came from their servers and email.

My experience is that they are not serious. If they were, they would have found the name (in my case) when they typed it in and on virtually all other marketplaces because of the networks. I don't even respond anymore.
 
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Is this normal? Or just a typical spam technique targeting domain owners?

It can be either (and I have received both types). There's a high likelihood that it's spam, especially since a serious buyer (who's unable to contact you by other means) would pay the modest sum to have a Godaddy broker negotiate for them.

But you should also be aware that occasionally it can be from a lawyer about an infringement concern, for example.

It won't hurt to respond with a one or two sentence email asking the reason for the inquiry. I wouldn't mention anything about sales/acquisition, initially.
 
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Thanks for the advice guys. I have sent a polite email asking how I can assist with their enquiry. Stay tuned.
 
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I would agree that if your domain is listed on a marketplace, I wouldn't bother responding.
 
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I am a newbie and a bit cautious when it comes to online security. Keen to hear if anyone thinks the below is my very first lead….or a red flag!

Earlier today I received an email from GoDaddy which looks legit below, it starts with:

‘Someone is trying to contact you regarding xxx.com.

We received a request from someone who'd like to contact you regarding xxx.com, which you registered through GoDaddy. This contact method is designed to provide a way for people who are interested in your domain to reach you, while still keeping your contact information private.’

It also includes the email address of the party who wants to get in contact and their message:

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

Is this normal? Or just a typical spam technique targeting domain owners?

I receive these on a daily basis. (More now than ever since they rolled out DomainsbyProxy to everyone.)

Unfortunately, the majority of these inquiries are nothing more than whois robospammers.

In my experience, the spammers' email addresses are always a dead giveaway and contain multiple underscores, the words logo..design...etc. on a .info extension, so I just delete.

Always research it before responding.
 
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You nailed it! The email address has the word logo and design in it on a .info extension.
So now they have my email address…albeit it not my primary one. What happens now? Do I brace myself for spam forever more….or worse….?
 
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You nailed it! The email address has the word logo and design in it on a .info extension.
So now they have my email address…albeit it not my primary one. What happens now? Do I brace myself for spam forever more….or worse….?
Be reassured that there is a wonderful thing called spam folders in most email accounts. If you can do an email spam rule on your account, program that address in to go directly to that spam folder.
 
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Everything coming from GD is spam. When someone wants your name you receive an actual offer or a broker contacts you from GD or Afternic.
 
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Everything coming from GD is spam. When someone wants your name you receive an actual offer or a broker contacts you from GD or Afternic.

Thanks, makes sense. I just got a bit excited as I only registered the name 2 weeks ago and am yet to make my first sale….let alone get my first enquiry, and this one is probably one of my stronger domain names!

As a side note; when I queried the message sent by the spammer the GD phone consultant said that it was probably a broker trying to get in touch interested in buying the domain. Surely they’d train their support staff on these kinds of things.
 
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As a side note; when I queried the message sent by the spammer the GD phone consultant said that it was probably a broker trying to get in touch interested in buying the domain. Surely they’d train their support staff on these kinds of things.
Excellent point. When the customer service survey arrives from GoDaddy, you may want to point that out. GD has a vested interest in not promoting spam emails through their customer service.
 
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You nailed it! The email address has the word logo and design in it on a .info extension.
So now they have my email address…albeit it not my primary one. What happens now? Do I brace myself for spam forever more….or worse….?

Ugh, I was about to mention the email address thing, but 411domains beat me to it.

I wouldn't be too concerned about you having sent the "interested party" a quick email. Typically they're just a minor, temporary nuisance.

As far as Godaddy phone support, I make it a point to never converse with them, to save my sanity.
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I receive these on a daily basis. (More now than ever since they rolled out DomainsbyProxy to everyone.)

Unfortunately, the majority of these inquiries are nothing more than whois robospammers.

In my experience, the spammers' email addresses are always a dead giveaway and contain multiple underscores, the words logo..design...etc. on a .info extension, so I just delete.

Always research it before responding.
Did you ever contact GD or DominsbyProxy about the issue? It would be curious to see what proactive steps they have taken, if any, to stop the spam.
 
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Everything coming from GD is spam. When someone wants your name you receive an actual offer or a broker contacts you from GD or Afternic.
Not true. A couple of days ago a broker contacted me this way to make an offer. His offer was under the minimum offer on the lander, so I guess that's why he had to take this route in order to get in touch.
 
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Not true. A couple of days ago a broker contacted me this way to make an offer. His offer was under the minimum offer on the lander, so I guess that's why he had to take this route in order to get in touch.
I've had that happen as well recently with Afternic.

Wouldn't an additional text or phone call from GD or Afternic be helpful, to help reassure us that an email sent from them is real? Also, it may help prevent sellers from never getting the email. In addition, it may help speed up the response time to the email in some cases, alerting the seller to check for the message.
I was very accustomed to getting spam messages for years allegedly from GD. After reviewing some old email folders, it appears likely that I missed various broker emails, and lost some potential sales as a result.
 
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I've gotten this same email multiple times. The email from GD is legit but the party they are contacting you on behalf of is someone who wants to pitch you their design services.

Actual buyers hit the BIN, make an offer or you will get a phone call from your GoDaddy Rep if it's an actual buyer.
 
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I've gotten this same email multiple times. The email from GD is legit but the party they are contacting you on behalf of is someone who wants to pitch you their design services.

Actual buyers hit the BIN, make an offer or you will get a phone call from your GoDaddy Rep if it's an actual buyer.
Thanks - yes, this is exactly what happened! Interesting business development tactic on their behalf...I wonder what their success rate is :)
 
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90 % spam , buyers usualy use godaddy brokerage service rather than contact directly via whois for the domain that registered at GD
 
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Some Crypto exchanges use an anti phishing code. You set a 6 digit code in your account and whenever the exchange sends an email, it would have that code to ensure legitimacy.
 
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Spam would be you didn't sign up for it. Looks pretty normal without seeing headers but just log into account and see if you have a message from admin.
 
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Did you ever contact GD or DominsbyProxy about the issue? It would be curious to see what proactive steps they have taken, if any, to stop the spam.

They already have the steps in place. Unfortunately, they don't have a bulk edit option for us yet, which would be extremely convenient for those of us with thousands of names.

Theoretically, they shouldn't be forwarding anything according to the default settings, but they do anyway. (Regardless of whether or not privacy is enabled.)

These are the default settings:

gddbp.PNG
 
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They already have the steps in place. Unfortunately, they don't have a bulk edit option for us yet, which would be extremely convenient for those of us with thousands of names.

Theoretically, they shouldn't be forwarding anything according to the default settings, but they do anyway. (Regardless of whether or not privacy is enabled.)

These are the default settings:

Show attachment 227629
Thanks for pointing out their settings. So they do have an ability to filter for spam prior to forwarding email. Do you think that setting would eliminate the problem? And, for the original poster of this thread, did he have this setting in place?
If one has the spam filter on with the forwarding, and an obvious spurious email shows up anyhow, I wonder if Godaddy or DomainsbyProxy has a setting where such cases can be forwarded to add to their subsequent filtering.
 
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