question Reducing WHOIS spam -- Ideas?

[GeorgeK]

Most of us in this forum probably get more than our fair share of WHOIS spam emails, given our above average holdings of domain names compared with the general population. Any ideas on how to reduce it? I seem to get endless "Expired SEO" spams, for example.

I was thinking that the amount of spam I receive might be lower if I switched my admin email address to a Google Gsuite/Gmail powered account. My theory is that spammers don't want to get banned by Google Gmail or Google GSuite, and so there'd be above average spam to domains hosted elsewhere. Alternatively, Google might be quicker to slow down such bulk mail, since they see more of it compared to smaller email providers. In other words, there's some extra protection being part of the Google Gmail/Gsuite "herd", so to speak.

Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions?

 

[Kuffy]

I've been using gmail, and I'm thinking of dumping it. They are starting to impose their ideas on website structures, and they seem to be dropping mail that doesn't comply. Also, they are getting too dominant, and I think it might be in our interests to try to sustain diversity on the net.

 

[alcy]

been using gmail since I started domain... and then of course way before that for my email.

I get about 100 spam mails per day... in relation to my gmail addres on domain regs.
and about 1 of those per week misses the spam folder.

in short, with gmail, I hardly even know spam exists.

far as I go, google with its gmail and everything else they invent, is abotu the best thing to happen to mankind since fire.

 

[GeorgeK]

I was hoping that with GSuite (i.e. paid GMail, branded with one's own domain), some high volume bulk spam would be entirely blocked, and wouldn't even get to the spam folder.

I still check my spam folders, so getting 100+ per day would still suck.

One big downside to switching my email admin in the WHOIS is that all the spammers that have blocked my current email address (because I've reported them to their ISPs, opted-out, etc.) will start getting through to my new account.....

 

[Kate]

1. Use a dedicated E-mail address for whois, not the main corporate address
2. I prefer to run my own mail servers, for privacy and control. So I can set my own rules and have maximum flexibility.
For example, I can reject some mails with offending subject lines by using regular expressions: thus the mail is blocked before it's even been accepted by the mail server. And then a rule is added on the fly to the iptables firewall (to block the IP address). The "Expired SEO" spams can be blocked fairly easily.
3. On the mail servers I can set up forwarders (aliases) or temporary addresses, and rotate them from to time... so that the spammers using cached whois are left with useless data...

 

[GeorgeK]

Thanks, Kate. I was planning to setup a dedicated email address with a domain I control, to be able to segment those WHOIS emails from everything else. I had been thinking about rotating the email addresses too, but it would have the downside I mentioned above, namely that spammers who've stopped emailing me (because I reported them to their ISPs, or opted out, or whatever) would now have a fresh email address to spam!

While there are advantages to running one's own mail eservers, as you correctly point out, having a turnkey solution like Google GSuite is a bit simpler.

 

[EmadPing]

From 100+ spam daily to 1 or 2 now, sometimes NONE. using gmail.

1) whois privacy. A MUST at least for me.
2) block and report every spam email. (very useful).

That is all.

 

[Thirwell Castle]

I use Whois privacy and life has been easy ever since.

 

[siddardha]

I get a fair share of emails from not opting for privacy at the beginning.
But it reduced after I started buying names from Namesilo(free privacy)

I bought a domain for a dollar to Bigrock(without privacy) two days ago and it started storming spam

In I hr 4 calls and and over 10 messages regarding website design. I politely decline them all with a 'No Thanks'

I guess they will stop after a couple of days for me as they will be busy targeting new domain owners

 

[Thirwell Castle]

I get a fair share of emails from not opting for privacy at the beginning.
But it reduced after I started buying names from Namesilo(free privacy)

I bought a domain for a dollar to Bigrock(without privacy) two days ago and it started storming spam

In I hr 4 calls and and over 10 messages regarding website design. I politely decline them all with a 'No Thanks'

I guess they will stop after a couple of days for me as they will be busy targeting new domain owners

Can you transfer out of bigrock easily and what did you use, like a coupon or something?
About to try them?

 

[siddardha]

Can you transfer out of bigrock easily and what did you use, like a coupon or something?
About to try them?

Not sure about the transfer process of bigrock, but hope it will be normal
For the registration, I used a coupon something like 'br99domsale'

Try googling and you might find one for 59rs

 

[Marka]

i know, gmail have good spam security.

for your domain create *domain*@gmail.com and enter in whois contacts.

 

[GoKaizen]

With your premium portfolio @GeorgeK why not just use Whois privacy? Doubtful you would see a drop in inquiries.

 

[HotKey]

From 100+ spam daily to 1 or 2 now, sometimes NONE. using gmail.

1) whois privacy. A MUST at least for me.
2) block and report every spam email. (very useful).

That is all.

1) A pain in the butt for dealing with sales and transfers, constantly having to remove your whois and manually check what email you are using. It also turns people off from sales inquiries.
2) Again a pain in the a$$ because it's so time-consuming. It's like a part-time job except more of a volunteer effort because you aren't getting paid for it.

The only real solution is what Kate said running your own mail server you want 100% control. It sounds like people are having success with Gmail suite, so please update this thread with results if you decide to go that route..

 

[anantj]

Can you transfer out of bigrock easily and what did you use, like a coupon or something?
About to try them?

Very easy to transfer out of Bigrock... Standard process... Get EPP, Unlock domain, initiate transfer

 

[biggie]

i feel your pain @GeorgeK

i get spam phone calls too

but if we, as domainers, are getting spammed to death,
just imagine what 'potential end-users' are going thru




imo....

 

[LucidDomains]

Simply create a rule to move all "Expired SEO", "App Development" "First page of google" etc.. emails to the Deleted folder.

Mission complete.

 

[GeorgeK]

With your premium portfolio @GeorgeK why not just use Whois privacy? Doubtful you would see a drop in inquiries.

With WHOIS privacy, it's hard to prove that you're the actual owner of the domain name, and establish it independently (e.g. in DomainTools WHOIS history, etc.). If the domain name gets stolen, etc., it might make it harder to prove the theft, etc.

 

[BrandChimp]

Here are some filters for gmail

http://spamchimp.com/filters/

 

[BrandChimp]

Whois Privacy and Gmail + Filters =