Domain Slamming

Domain slamming is the letter in your mailbox that looks like a renewal invoice for a domain you own. It has your domain name on it, an official-looking company name and a due date. Pay it and you've just transferred your domain to that company and agreed to their renewal price, which is usually several times what you were paying.

The Domain Registry of America ran this play for years before regulators in the US and Canada came after it. Variations still show up, including email versions and the "your listing in an internet directory is about to expire" letter, which isn't even about a domain.

The tell is simple. Your registrar doesn't need to mail you a paper invoice, and nobody else has any business sending you one. If a notice comes from a name you don't recognize, log in to your actual registrar and check the expiration date there.