discuss There are some people list millions of other people's domain on Afternic

[70ym]

https://www.afternic.com/gdntc1
gdntc1

https://www.afternic.com/aliyuming
aliyuming

These people list about millions of other people's domain on afternic.
When I try to list my domain, it will show that my domain already list by these people. And I need to spend 10 minutes to send them an email and wait for a week if I want to list my domain.

 

[CamMK27]

I have hundreds of domains in my portfolio that I can't list on afternic because they are already listed there by either previous owners or other people who have listed them for no reasons even though they don't own thew domains. I contacted Afternic and they want me to send a screenshot of every domain which is ridiculous because I don't have the time to send dozens of emails with hundreds of screenshots.

There has to be a better way.

 

[Ostrados]

This is obvious loophole for scammers, they can list millions of domains, in hope few domain owners will approve fast transfer by mistake.

Before enabling Fast Transfer the domain seller must prove ownership of the domain through a concrete method such as TXT records, screenshot can easily be faked.

Same loopshole applies to DAN as well with their new Afternic syndication

 

[Namingfy]

The tactic is simple.
Add all possible domains to Afternic, if the domains get sold the real owner receives email to fast approve MLS, by mistake owner can do it, fake seller gets sale.
Afternic is doing nothing to solve this, who knows maybe they themselves are involved into this scheme.
I got already 2 such requests for 2 domains which I dropcatch and I m not stupid to process the move.

You were able to reject fast approve, just because you HAD NOT APPROVED IN THE PAST.

But, in case of SAV, if you had opted for 'FAST TRANSFER', then you can NOT OPT OUT.
And if you remove your afternic listing, just because you don't want to sell at all, and if a scammer adds it and it gets it sold, then you'll lose the name, since you've already given approval in SAV.

@Sav.com Can you help us understand why there is no way to remove the fast transfer approval once opted in? Maybe I'm wrong here, as I might not have been able to locate the remove link. If that's the case can you guide us in locating the link in Sav account.

 

[Ostrados]

what could someone win in deliberately listing another person's domain ?
the actual owner still have to agree on the transfer for the transaction to be made

If you read the full thread you will find the answers. In short:

1- Front runners list domains that are not listed at Afternic but are listed for sale somewhere else (ex: Sedo), then they price the domain at Afternic at a higher price. When a domain sells they go buy it and transfer the domain to Afternic.

2- Some thieves may list many domain in hope some owners opt-in to fast transfer email by mistake. If you own large porfolio then you will not inspect fast transfer opt-in emails everytime you will most likely just click approve without reading the domains.

These are serious loopholes in Afternic system, which can easily be fixed by mandatory TXT record verification for domains added to Afternic.

 

[tld4me]

Running into the same issue as everyone else here, I just posted in the Afternic thread about it:

Report them to the FTC. Please.

 

[branding]

I have hundreds of domains in my portfolio that I can't list on afternic because they are already listed there by either previous owners or other people who have listed them for no reasons even though they don't own thew domains. I contacted Afternic and they want me to send a screenshot of every domain which is ridiculous because I don't have the time to send dozens of emails with hundreds of screenshots.

There has to be a better way.

AN is a bitch to deal with. I've brought down the count of fake listings for domains managed by me from 786 to 129. Took me months.

They should really stop listing stuff they have no right to list. And yes, no matter the TOS, AN can be held accountable. It's sheer negligence.

If a domain owner hasn't verified ownership, they should delist (or prohibit listing in the first place) going on a simple complaint.

Sending screenshots? What is it? 1999?

Btw, the reason they won't is because they're afraid to step on the toes of the legacy users with large portfolios (you know who you are). These dinosaurs think it's too much hassle to add a txt record in bulk. Get with the times man!

/end rant

 

[Future Sensors]

It has been an ongoing issue. I just bugger them every now and then when I have time or feel up to it

I bet the problem always existed but the scale of fraudulent listings seems to be increasing over time.

I don't lose any sleep over it ( gotta watch that blood pressure ) but it's mindboggling how technically inadequate some venues are when considered to be tech companies.

That's why Dan was so refreshing. They've set the bar pretty high. No-one is following so far...

AN/GD could do with a complete rewrite. Sedo is bearable.

It's certainly frustrating that not a single suggestion here on the forum actually gets picked up by Afternic. At least I can't recall. A sharp contrast with DAN.

 

[James Iles]

Thanks for tagging me @Ostrados. @70ym, I will DM you.

On a separate note, this (and a few other instances) have been highlighted to the Afternic team - expect some development on this soon

 

[DomainNature]

The tactic is simple.
Add all possible domains to Afternic, if the domains get sold the real owner receives email to fast approve MLS, by mistake owner can do it, fake seller gets sale.
Afternic is doing nothing to solve this, who knows maybe they themselves are involved into this scheme.
I got already 2 such requests for 2 domains which I dropcatch and I m not stupid to process the move.
I think for such careless behavior people can get in contact with authorities to complain, they list domains without verification and authorization from real owners.

 

[Namingfy]

AN is a bitch to deal with. I've brought down the count of fake listings for domains managed by me from 786 to 129. Took me months.

786 fake listing?! Even with 1 fake listing, a domain owner is in trouble, as it's to deal with money.

They should really stop listing stuff they have no right to list. And yes, no matter the TOS, AN can be held accountable. It's sheer negligence.

Negligence is the right word. But, what they don't realize is that it's a matter of time when they will become negligible. Remember BIG brands that almost vanished from market? Example: Blackberry. Yeah, there was a smartphone by that brand, before iPhone and subsequently Android wiped them out.

I see SquadHelp the new iPhone. And, there will be Android too! There is room - enough room - and there is desperate need for them as well.

If a domain owner hasn't verified ownership, they should delist (or prohibit listing in the first place) going on a simple complaint.

Why should there even be a an unverified listing?

Sending screenshots? What is it? 1999?

Who should be punished? Victim? Why Ask the victim to spend time to prove ownership?

Ask the scammers who've listed the domains to verify that they're the rightful owner. And if they don't provide ownership proof, BLOCK THEIR ACCOUNTS. If they're NOT BLOCKED, YOU'RE ABETTING THEIR FAKE LISTING and you're DAMN PART OF THE CRIME.

Btw, the reason they won't is because they're afraid to step on the toes of the legacy users with large portfolios (you know who you are). These dinosaurs think it's too much hassle to add a txt record in bulk. Get with the times man!

Again, irrespective how big the portfolio size of the so called legacy users, when the platform itself becomes negligible, they'll vanish from the market. Any business that is not following ethical business practices will not survive in the market, will windup with loss !!!

/end rant

This isn't rant. This is our duty here.

 

[dr manos]

It is time for Afternic to implement the TXT record verification and automatically remove from the other accounts the names.
I am spending as well weeks to list names, screenshots, excel files etc.
GD has TXT option but does not work when a name is already listed there as does not allow even to list, so actually nothing,

Sedo and DAN are very OK with TXT record as names are removed from other accounts and added

 

[Namingfy]

https://www.afternic.com/gdntc1
gdntc1

https://www.afternic.com/aliyuming
aliyuming

These people list about millions of other people's domain on afternic.
When I try to list my domain, it will show that my domain already list by these people. And I need to spend 10 minutes to send them an email and wait for a week if I want to list my domain.

This is a serious flaw in the entire business process - selling your asset WITHOUT your permission. IDEALLY, SOMEONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SUE such business practices. I'm sure one can't put neighbour's property for sale online, let alone a domain name.

Twitter handle BlakNames already reported this issue. And after realizing this issue, I have stopped approving fast transfer in SAV, as once approved in SAV, it's not possible to revoke the approval - at least, I don't see any such option. Note: NameCheap & Dynadot permit approve/remove fast transfer.

 

[Namingfy]

I have around 20 names already listed from third parties on Afternic. They must add TXT confirmation ASAP.

You're not the first one to ask for 'TXT Verification'. If Afternic ever had intention to do it, they would have done it.
Afternic has not done it so far, let alone they would ASAP.

The funny thing is that it's not even complicated stuff to check TXT records. Much newer and smaller platforms like Daaz is providing TXT record verification... why not Afternic?!

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

Well what do you know. I started looking to see if any of my recent expiries were listed on afternic, and sure enough there is my name in redemption, make offer $20 minimum. The first one i searched
Its not on Dan
Why is godaddy and its other marketplace allowing people to list names they dont own @James Iles ?

 

[DomainNature]

You were able to reject fast approve, just because you HAD NOT APPROVED IN THE PAST.

But, in case of SAV, if you had opted for 'FAST TRANSFER', then you can NOT OPT OUT.
And if you remove your afternic listing, just because you don't want to sell at all, and if a scammer adds it and it gets sold, then you'll lose the name, since you've already given approval in SAV.

@sav-com

No, I had to contact SAV to cancel this requests, most interesting they did not implement such function for user to reject SEDO/Afternic MLS , which is weird.
I like SAV but to not introduce more security is bad for a registrar.

 

[Namingfy]

Do they even have a quality management section? I used to really like this company, and still believe they offer a useful platform. Maybe their fraudulent listings issue is getting out of control recently, with all the integrations and other changes?

It's not that, "their fraudulent listings issue is getting out of control recently".
It has always been there! This has nothing to do with 'integrations', but, INTEGRITY.

SquadHelp/SEDO/Daaz requires TXT record to verify ownership. Why not Afternic?

 

[Namingfy]

Make certain that, if the domains are not with the GoDaddy registrar, that they don't show up with the FT anyhow. For my GD ones, when I relisted them, they automatically got the FT even though I didn't request it at that point and really didn't want it.

That's even scary that GD names don't require our Fast Transfer approval. It's absolutely scandalous. GD is a registrar. They should abide by the ICANN policies and behave just like any other registrar should do.

I've ONLY 2 names with GD (as they were pushed). Should transfer them out, soon.

So, the more we dig, the more unethical practices are being exposed.

 

[Namingfy]

Incidentally, reviewing all four fraudulent listings, they all start at a minimum bid of $20, and are only make offer. So, at this point all of them would not be eligible for the FT at this point, which is at least a slight relief.

I don't see that as a relief.

Afternic has 'floor' price as well. What if the scam seller has put in a floor price of $50?

With the floor price in place, Afternic broker has green signal to sell the name at the floor price $50, without your approval. That would still trigger fast transfer and move the domain out of your account - without your approval.

 

[Namingfy]

It's reassuring that they at least provide the option.
Keep in mind that we don't know whether these fake listings are related to FT. It does make sense for the registrars to provide this as an easy opt-out, especially if security concerns have arisen.

Option to remove 'Afternic Fast Transfer Approval' is more of a users' choice, and it should be in place irrespective of security concerns. And this feature should be implemented by every Registrar, which Dynadot has already done it.

Registrars provide option to approve 'Fast Transfer' - instantly.
But 'for removal of Fast Transfer' they expect us to contact their customer support!
Or, funny yet, run survey (!!!) to provide option to disapprove 'Fast Transfer'. Seriously?!

 

[buydomainnames]

TXT record , CNAME or additional NS are better to verify domains. Additonal NS like Dan is ideal ,especially for bulk listing verification instantly.

Or merge afternic + uniregistry into DAN only might be loved by domain investor / seller / buyers. All in One verification , One Stop Marketplace and change DAN logo with GoDaddy.

 

[Shimmy]

Thanks all. Domains that I was sent were highlighted to the team. I've alerted them to any outliers that may be remaining from the domains sent to me.

Obviously, this isn't a scalable or desirable solution to this -- I've mentioned before that a better solution is in the works and I'll share more when I can.

The solution is obvious, suspend accounts with fake listings. Currently all you are saying is that afternic condones fake listings and will only delete fake listings one at a time out of a fake lister's account

 

[kor]

We definitely need a strong competitor to wipe godaddy out of the market.

 

[tld4me]

If you all work with me and others and email the CEO of Godaddy with our problems - email addresses above - we might finally get some eyes on these afternic problems.

Good luck with that. You are going the wrong route. @GoDaddy has owned Afternic since 2013. @DAN.COM was purchased by them in 2022. You don't think the CEO that's been there since 2019 knows how they conduct their business?

Regulators need to put a stop to this.

Anyone know which government agency handles business practices like this? Is it the FTC?

 

[tld4me]

OK, folks. There are definitely strong feelings about GD. And yet, there have been some great successes for some NP members using Dan and Afternic.

Increased competition would likly create major incentives for substantial Improvements within the GD empire.

Afternic, to me, still seems to be the best for sales. Dynadot does seem to be gaining more traction. Hopefully, some healthy competition will help them and other registrars really thrive in the future.

Resolving verification issues and allowing only authorized domain listings would be a good start.

I certainly understand the want to keep the discussion you started within this thread focused and constructive.

I'm new to this community and new to being a domainer. Reading through various posts on this website, there are certainly a number of issues with GoDaddy. (which are valid!)

GoDaddy also isn't new. It's not like they are a fledgling company that hasn't shown their hand yet and is trying to build a new small product.

GoDaddy is huge and established. Yet, they have gone downhill for years. I became a @GoDaddy customer approximately 20 years ago. Since then, as they have expanded, I've seen their products become more expensive. I've also seen the functionality of their website become less useful and riddled with bugs. I now talk about GoDaddy the way I used to talk about their competitors when I first went to GoDaddy. One thing I'm glad they improved on was the now ease of transferring domains AWAY from GoDaddy. I've moved almost all of mine.

The issues complained about in this thread have been on GoDaddy's radar for years.

The torches and pitchforks being raised at this point are warranted.

You all that have been doing this for years: Which government agency in the US would be best for me to contact and describe these business practices? I'm thinking the FTC, but I don't know if I'm moving in the wrong direction. I'd like to focus my anger somewhere that actually might eventually produce change.