Frequently Asked Question

What is "Domain Slamming" and who is "Domain Registry Of Canada"?

Background:

This document provides background information on certain types of marketing practices which many people believe are to be misleading. These practicesand are commonly referred to as "domain slamming."

We do not participate in this practice. Our renewal messages are by email and automated.

Wikipedia defines domain slamming as a scam where an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or domain name registrar sends materials to a domain owner, which attempts to trick them into switching ISP's / domain name registrars under the pretense that the customer is simply renewing their existing services.

 

Please note that we are in no way affiliated with The Domain Registry of Canada (DROC), also known as 1446513 Ontario Limited. Also note that while many believe that DROC is related to or a re-incorporation of The Internet Registry of Canada (IROC), that assumption may be incorrect; however, a representative of IROC is quoted in the Globe and Mail as admitting that the companies do have a director in common.

 

Our Own Experience:

Our opinion is that it is always a good idea to read and understand agreements before signing them or agreeing to pay for them. Based off of the notice we received, we can understand how someone who is not aware of their current registrar and not reading the alleged renewal document completely could misunderstand it.

As we registered our own domain through our TuCows reseller account, we were surprised to receive what appeared to be an invoice from DROC.

We read carefully though - and although the document is formatted as what may appear to be a renewal, it is in fact an offer to transfer services.

 

Click the images below for a full size version.

DROC-bitblock.net FRONT 1652x2131

DROC-bitblock.net BACK 1652x2131

 Front

 Back

 

Warning - the fine print is incredibly fine.

 

A Brief History & External References

Alan Zisman wrote about his recent experience in Business In Vancouver - a copy of his article is here.

IROC ran into trouble with the Compeition Bureau citing that the name was presented to imply the organization had official government status. It was made even more clear that IROC intended to deceive domain owners by their use of recycled brown government styled envelopes for the delivery of their registration forms.

Many of the procedures practiced today by DROC including the name, format (in addition to one of the directors) and so on may appear very similar to those used by IROC

As of March 26, 2009 from what we understand, DROC is not itself even an actual CIRA certified egistrar (click here for a list).

Whois records are a public record of domain ownership and contact information. Although many registration authorities specifically disallow their use for marketing purposes, we suspect this is how "domain slammers" obtain the contact information they use.

The whois record for droc.ca (the website for DROC) shows:

whois droc.ca
Domain name:           droc.ca
Domain status:         EXIST
Domain number:         323545
Approval date:         2001/08/08
Renewal date:          2016/08/08
Updated date:          2007/10/04

Registrar:
    Name:              Brandon Gray Internet Services Inc.
    Number:            985491

Registrant:
    Name:              1446513 Ontario Limited o/a Domain Registry of Canada
    Number:            323545

Administrative contact:
    Name:              Mr Larry Coker
    Job Title:         Domain Registrar
    Postal address:    Domain Registry of Canada
                       P.O. Box 4577
                       Markham ON L3R 5M7 Canada
    Phone:             905-479-2533
    Fax:               905-479-1878
    Email:             registrar@droc.ca

Technical contact:
    Name:              Mr Larry Coker
    Job Title:
    Postal address:    7100 Warden Avenue
                       Suite  8
                       Markham ON L3R8B5 Canada
    Phone:             (905) 415-2681 x401
    Fax:               (905) 415-2682
    Email:             lcoker@namejuice.com

Name servers:
    dns1.nameresolvers.com
    dns2.nameresolvers.com
    dns3.nameresolvers.com
    dns4.nameresolvers.com

% WHOIS look-up made at 2009-03-26 13:42:46 (GMT)
%
% Use of CIRA's WHOIS service is governed by the Terms of Use in its Legal
% Notice, available at http://www.cira.ca/legal-notice/?lang=en
%
% (c) 2007 Canadian Internet Registration Authority, (http://www.cira.ca/)

 

 

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