someone stole 7 of our very good domains yesterday and no one seems to be able to help getting them back.. they somehow hacked into our registrar and pushed them to their account (which i'm guessing was a new obscure account).. so frustrated as lawyers say it may take months and $$$ to get them back and in the meantime our business will be ruined.. i'd even consider paying someone to do what they did to us at this point as it seems the legal system protects the hackers..
If the hijackings were discovered, say, a month after they supposedly occurred, unfortunately that will be difficult to resolve. I guess you already talked to your registrar about it? Before the next person says the registrar is responsible, it might help to read your registration agreement and see whose responsibilities are spelled out for what. Namely, the registrar will do its part in keeping your account as secure as possible, yet you do yours as well. Another option you can look into is using the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) to try getting those back. You still have to prove its claims such as having trademark rights and all, but it's been used a few times to otherwise retrieve actually-stolen domain names. Lastly, report it to law enforcement, although they're not necessarily equipped to handle things like that. In the end, persistence is really your only ally. Good luck.
1. You can speak to your registrar and find out what policies they have in place to deal with hacked accounts. It is obviously something they have dealt with and have a plan for. 2. Attorney's cost money, but there is a good chance you could get an injunction within days if the site is worth $100,000 as you say. 3. Your giving up a little bit more than an hour after making this post seems to indicate that you don't really care that much or just don't want to put in any effort. If someone stole your property then you need to take steps to get it back. I am happy to offer more advice. I have a personal policy that I never want to be more invested in an issue than my clients. When they are unwilling to put up time or money I follow their lead and tend not to invest my time or money. The same applies when I try to help people for free.
write or even better phone or live chatting with your registrar ! i had 4 domain stolen exactly the same way to yours - and they were returned withing 3 weeks ! you have to insist with your registrar that their site was hacked ! and Your domains stolen !! remember - also make sure that your system is clean and do not host any of those passwords/login stealing trojans / virus etc etc !
Who is the registrar? Were the domains held in your name? Were they pushed within the same registrar or transferred to a different one? I am assuming they are trying to continue your sites as they were. You can always prevent them from using your content, but the goal is obviously to get the domains back, so that is where I would focus my attention first.
they are actually not doing anything right now as the domain still points to my hosting.. i'm pretty sure they are afraid to get 'tracked' if they change anything but eventually they have to get hosting, merchant account, and list phone number/address on their website - and then i'll be able to go after them..
hard to know where your asset it, in the domain or the content - and obviously you should be able to keep and protect both. You have several options, but it is hard to say which is best without knowing more information. I know I would not be waiting for them to get those things you mention before going after them - by then it will be too late to exercise some of the leverage you still have. Do you live in the United States? If you want to PM me some more details I can take a look and see if I can offer you some more specific advice. I am an attorney, but not looking for clients, but might be able to point you in the right direction.
That's crazy. I've always been worried about someone using my brand name but I never thought a domain could be hacked and transferred so easily. How could you protect against this? Are there better domain hosts? better servers?
i'd love to hear if there are.. the basic language that Registrars use basically says they are not liable for anything.. they just told me that maybe i should have had a more secure password.. yet they don't enforce that like banks or paypal.. paypal would have stopped this in a flash if someone had tried to login from another IP address.. my bank would have done the same.. in fact my bank makes me change passwords every couple months.. no security measures at all with Godaddy.. i thought that by 'locking' my domains i was good to go.. not if someone hacks into your account..
One possibility is the hijacker might've compromised your email address on file. That's the most common yet effective way since: a) it can be used to "request" changing your login details, and b) it can get any and all emails regarding any changes made to your domain registration. Unless, say, you're also using the registrar's email services, unfortunately that's something registrars have little to no control over.
If your registrar doesn't help, remind them of their duties if they are an accredited ICANN or Nominet (UK) or other service - and then go to them directly - they have tribunals set up to sort out just this kind of thing.
but it's all so complicated.. i filled out their form which was very hard to find and 1 week later haven't heard a peep from them.. godaddy is sticking by their decision..