Phishing

Pronounced FISH'ing (noun), phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, social security numbers, and/or credit card details via e-mail or online chat by falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise. The general rule of thumb is if you receive a message asking you for information and you recognize the company name, call the company* directly first before clicking on any links in the message, or just delete the message in question.

* When calling a company that you typically work with, always use the phone number(s) that you already have and not the phone numbers listed in the message that you had received as this could be part of the phishing technique.

Domain Slamming

Domain slamming is a type of scam in which a domain name registrar tricks a customer into switching their domain name services from their current registrar to a new registrar by using a solicitation that looks like a domain name renewal invoice. Ultimately, keeping good records and knowing who your registrar is are two very important things so that you know who to officially contact to renew your domain name(s). Additional levels of domain security may also be available to assist with avoiding several types of domain slamming techniques - Call your current domain registrar for more details.

If you feel that you've become a victim, consider taking the following steps:

  1. Contact your current domain registrar to reject the transfer request. Also ask them of other ways to protect your private information and/or to lock your domain name.
  2. Contact your payment authority right away to stop payment (your bank if you paid by check, or the appropriate credit card company if you've used your credit card.)
  3. Report the incident to the appropriate authorities:

* Fill out the ICANN Registrar Complaint Form at http://www.internic.net/cgi/registrars/problem-report.cgi

* Fill out the mail fraud complaint form at https://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFraudComplaint.htm if you've received the fraudulent communication via postal service

About your Domain Name

You may receive several emails about renewing your domain name. Make sure you call before renewing your domain name if you are not sure who your registrar is to make sure the right company is collecting payment.

Recently, Marathon has made a decision to use a Domain Name Registrar that gives our clients more domain name options for the same price. We have partnered with a company called Wild West Domains. Make sure to keep a copy of your login information for your records.

With this new system, you can renew your domain name for additional years online anytime. Additionally, you may choose the "Auto Renew" option, a common request from our hosting customers. You may change your payment method so that you don't have to worry about your domain name expiring in the future.

It is important that you verify that your contact information is complete and up-to-date. Failure to keep your contact data current may result in the cancellation of your domain name.

If you need further support with your domain name options, please feel free to contact our domain name support team at (480) 624-2500.

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