Slightly bizarre. Is this a con?

[Sentinate]

So a buyer contacts me, offers a price, they own the .net, they want the .com. Website at .net shows a "launching soon" website. Hasn't been regged long, but hidden behind a whois privacy service. We counter a few times, we settle on a $x,xxx price, just today, in fact. Although as soon as we agree, the buyer fires a ecrow.com escrow agreement into my inbox, barely more than a few minutes. Buyer obviously keen to get the deal done. It took me slightly aback, as we hadn't really discussed method of payment and delivery. I'm never usually in a hurry with these things.

But then I notice something in the escrow. The buyer has actually made one very big mistake, although they've put my .com in the agreement title, they have actually listed THEIR .net as the domain to buy in the domain field, not my .com - i.e. they trying to buy their own domain :D. To be honest, I was putting down as an innocent mistake in their keenness to get the deal done. But it does occur to me that if I hadn't noticed, they'd be able to leave the whois of their own domain untouched, to make it look like I hadn't completed the deal, stop the escrow and get themselves a refund after I'd passed over the real domain being sold? ...Possible?

It's just so bizarre, it's just got me wondering if there's an angle. And although it early days, they've also seem to have gone a little on the non-communicative side since I suggested I'd prefer to use another escrow provider, as the last time I used escrow.com was a good while ago and I've forgot the ins and outs of it - I haven't actually pointed their glaring mistake to them for this reason (and to also not make them feel foolish).

On balance, I think I'd still put it down to a careless mistake, but my inexperience with escrow.com has got me wary. The buyer even used an email address as part of the escrow which is their @"thedomain".net, making the mistake obvious to see - although interestingly it's different to the email they're talking to me with. Also if it is a con, they also seem to have gone to some trouble to pull it off.

So I thought I'd best check. I figured if it is a con doing the rounds, NamePros posters would know about it. So, con or innocent mistake, anyone heard of this before?

 

[aramyus]

Your description of the facts immediately make me think of a scam.

I think I'd raise the point with the buyer and/or possibly with escrow.com to see if they have faced the case already.

 

[Kuffy]

There are so many creative frauds connected with domain names and domain name sales, tht I think you are right to be suspicious. Thank you for starting this thread.

Have you written to Escrow, and the buyer? It would be interesting to see their response. I wonder what they will do with the .net if it is a scam.

 

[ZapNano]

"Creative Frauds" = true

 

[Kate]

Don't proceed. Cancel the escrow, and set up a new transaction yourself. Then explain them their mistake. You'll if they are serious or not.

 

[jideofor]

Don't proceed. Cancel the escrow, and set up a new transaction yourself. Then explain them their mistake. You'll if they are serious or not.

I will go with this.

 

[joro001]

My thoughts reading the OP is there's a high possibility of a scam going on here.

It could very well be the real buyer of the .net who doesn't want to actually pay for the domain and do some kind of trick that you suggest. Either way it is not normal for a buyer to immediately initiate the transaction via escrow without asking you first if you want to use it and then making such a glaring error when setting it up.

Kate is bang on IMO. You take control of the transaction, if it's really legit they will feel stupid/apologetic and move forward at your pace and preference. Don't hold your breath though!

 

[Sentinate]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. I decided to email Escrow.com and let them know what happened. I've asked them not to take any action, just be aware, just in case things don't go smoothly. I'm waiting for them to get back.

I did what you guys suggested and restarted things as a new transaction. Things seem to be going smoothly, and the buyer seems pretty relaxed and not making any demands, which gives me with more confidence.

One slight concern is that for their .net, they're not only using whois privacy, but also on the same registrar as me, so if I push the domain to their account, it wouldn't be massively hard for them to quickly slap whois privacy on the domain and to make it look like it hasn't changed owner at all.

What happens in the situation that after a domain has been transferred/pushed, the buyer claims the domain hasn't been received by them? Does escrow.com have contacts at registrars that can confirm a push has taken place if it isn't clear from the whois?

 

[LaunchUp.com]

I've never faced

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. I decided to email Escrow.com and let them know what happened. I've asked them not to take any action, just be aware, just in case things don't go smoothly. I'm waiting for them to get back.

I did what you guys suggested and restarted things as a new transaction. Things seem to be going smoothly, and the buyer seems pretty relaxed and not making any demands, which gives me with more confidence.

One slight concern is that for their .net, they're not only using whois privacy, but also on the same registrar as me, so if I push the domain to their account, it wouldn't be massively hard for them to quickly slap whois privacy on the domain and to make it look like it hasn't changed owner at all.

What happens in the situation that after a domain has been transferred/pushed, the buyer claims the domain hasn't been received by them? Does escrow.com have contacts at registrars that can confirm a push has taken place if it isn't clear from the whois?

I've never faced that issue, but I've thought of that. What if a buyer receives your domain then claim they haven't received a name from you(using privacy)? Does escrow have a way to verify?

I guess they would ask for evidence of the push, as we normally get a confirmation email..Godaddy or the registrar itself should have a record.

But this should be easier. It would be cool to have a escrow company that have their own accounts at different registrars, where they can receive a push and then push a name themselves to the buyer within minutes. Meaning they can release payment immediately without waiting on a buyer or worry about scams or failed transactions.

Innovation will win in the end: Like with Uber, Postmates etc.. any company that makes the process simple yet safe will win. Escrow willalso need to consider offering an escrow card like other companies so you can withdraw funds at any atm instantly. but that's another topic.

Ask escrow these questions?

 

[ultradog]

You must not proceed with a contract that has the wrong domain name, so of course you cancel this transaction and set up a new one.

I've never had a sale fail due to the buyer immediately privatizing the domain, but I do this for my own protection: Take screenshots of my account at the registrar, showing the name there, and a screenshot of the whois page. Then, immediately after pushing the domain, I take a screenshot of the new whois page, which is not private then. Because some registrars don't send you emails notifying of the push, although they're supposed to.