My wife, who has a recently established web site for her business, received a notification from Domain Register Pty Ltd stating in large bold print "Domain Name Available" beneath which were listed her name and domain name. This document had been deliberately designed to look like an invoice to trap the unwary or busy person into paying for something they have already paid for. As my wife's web site is fairly new she thought that this "invoice" was part of the set-up costs and sent off a cheque for $249 for 2 years' registration, FREE email and web forwarding. As a bonus for paying by a certain date Domain Register offered a *Free iPod shuffle. A few days after paying the $249 my wife mentioned the matter and showed me the "invoice" because she had a feeling that something was fishy. A quick glance revealed that it was not an invoice at all. Underneath the bold-printed details showing Price, what the service Includes, the Special Offer of the iPod and Customer Support information, Domain Register have protected themselves by advising in much paler grey print "this is an invitation to register, disregard this letter if you are not the proprietor or if you do not wish to register..." A quick search on the 'Net reveals that there are a lot of victims of this scam, and not only in Victoria. So, if you receive anything from Domain Registry Pty Ltd please treat it with a great deal of suspicion. Apart from anyting else, the normal cost for registering a Domain is between $20 and $40 I'm advised. As for the iPod, we don't even know what it does but at $249 it seems pretty expensive.

Approximate cost: $249