ICANN Proposed Privacy Rule Changes

["Cliff Sleeman" <cliff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear ICANN,

I manage almost 500 domain names for my clients with three registrars. My
primary Registrar provides this service for free, so money is not a driving
force for me sending this email. 

 

Please do not change any proposed rules concerning privacy settings related
to domain name ownership. In the past, without privacy set ON, I would
receive constant phone calls and emails from clients concerning the various
notices and emails concerning renewals from companies we did not use and
inquires for purchasing their domain names. They would also receive other
business scam communications that we were able to later track down which
occurred because their Privacy setting were not turned on for one of their
domain names.

 

A couple of years ago, I received a phone call from a former client who took
over management of their domain. They asked if I could do them a favor and
see what I could find out about a company who had contacted them concerning
their upcoming renewal. Unfortunately, they had already paid the invoice of
US$350 to a company that was not their domain registrar. This occurred
because they did not know how to turn on their privacy setting (or know why
they should even turn it on). Today they have me manage and renew their
domain name to prevent another scam.

 

Today with privacy turned on, my company rarely receives any more inquires
from my clients about potential scams, and I have not had one client scammed
or have lost a domain name because of receiving unsolicited emails related
to their domain registration being published. I believe that there are too
many unsuspecting domain owners that have no clue about how easy it would be
to lose their personal or business domain names.  Also these same
individuals run the risk of losing their jobs or their businesses that they
have built because of a simple mistake in managing their domains if they do
not have the option to turn on privacy for their domain name.

 

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE OUR ABILITY TO RETAIN PRIVACY ON DOMAIN NAME OWNERSHIP.

 

Thanks,

Cliff

 

Cliff Sleeman 

President

Communication Strategies, Inc.

PO Box 71231  |  Richmond, VA 23255-1231  |  USA

Office 804-888-8400  |  cliff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Eastern Time Zone