How do I find out who my actual domain registrar is?

You can do a 'WHOIS lookup' online free of charge. Sites like whois.icann.org will tell you the exact registrar (e.g., Namecheap, Cloudflare, GoDaddy) where your domain is held.

What happens if I paid the fake invoice?

You have likely paid for a worthless 'SEO directory' service, or worse, you paid to transfer your domain away from your actual registrar to the scammer's control. Contact your bank to reverse the charge immediately.

How can I prevent these emails?

Ensure 'Domain Privacy' or 'WHOIS Privacy' is turned on with your actual domain registrar. This masks your email and address from the public databases scammers use.

Domain Scam Checker

Domain renewal scam checker for fake registrar invoices.

Got an official-looking invoice warning that your website domain is expiring today, and your business will go offline unless you pay immediately? Stop. This is a common B2B scam targeting small business owners.

Security Insight

Millions of physical letters and emails are sent every year mimicking domain registrars. The attackers scrape the public WHOIS database to find your exact domain, name, and address.

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Detecting fake domain invoices

Attackers exploit the fear of a business website going offline. Watch out for these extremely common domain renewal scam patterns.

Invoices from an unknown company

The invoice comes from a company with a name like 'Domain Registry of America' or 'DNS Services', not the actual company you registered your website with (like GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc).

It's actually an 'SEO Service' offer

If you read the extremely fine print, the document will say 'This is not a bill, this is a solicitation' for generic search engine submission services, not your actual domain renewal.

Highly inflated renewal prices

The fake invoice will demand $75 to $200+ for a single year renewal of a standard .com domain, which normally costs $10-$20.

Aggressive artificial urgency

The notice claims your domain is expiring 'within 24 hours' and your site traffic will be immediately cut off, forcing you to pay quickly without checking your records.

What IsThisSpam checks before you trust a sender

Quick verdicts are useful, but the real value is understanding why something looks safe, uncertain, or risky.

Mismatched registrars

If your website is hosted on Shopify or GoDaddy, but you get an invoice from 'Web Registry System', it is a scam.

Weird domain variations

Sometimes they bill you for similar names. If your site is yourbusiness.com, they might send a bill for yourbusiness.net or yourbusiness.info.

Physical mail invoices

Many domain scams are sent via physical postal mail to look more official to accounting departments.

Threats of trademark loss

Scammers may claim someone else is trying to register 'your brand' as a foreign domain unless you pay them to stop it.

Related guides

Use the checker for the fast answer, then read the deeper guidance for recurring scam patterns.

Invoice Fraud Checker

Learn more about broader B2B invoice scams and payment redirects.

Read the guide

Most Common Scams People Fall For

Understand other social engineering tactics aimed at small businesses.

Read the guide

FAQ

These are the questions people usually ask right before they click, reply, or pay.

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