Nominet, and how they stole my domain and then gave it away - part I

Monday Feb 16, 2009

Back in 2006, which is just yesterday in terms of domain name ownership, I registered a domain name. Late in 2008 my ex-business partner left his full time employment and together with somebody else I never met, they went into business together. Good for them. At that point I was asked by my ex-business partner to give away my domain name. It was a good name and it was of use to them. I wasn't about to just give away a perfectly good domain name, and why would I? I asked that he sort out some outstanding paperwork around the business we had, and then I'll think about it. Maybe. Suddenly he wasn't in a hurry to sort our anything so I started ignoring his mails asking about the domain transfer.

Today I learned that Nominet (organization in charge of the .uk top level domain) transferred the domain name to my ex-business partner account, without my approval. Without an email or so much as a phone call or even a signature bearing FAX to me. Essentially Nominet just gave away my domain that I registered in 2006. Nominet stole my domain. Then they sold it or gave it away.

That is theft in my book.

It is also very bad business for people in the internet domain name registration practice to just really mess up on basic security.

So I am seriously wondering what or how did it happen, without my authorization. I was never contacted by them, so... I am speculating here, but if a third party is able to call in, and say he is me, and request a domain to be transfered, which more over succeeds without the TLD administrator verifying identity of the requester, then something is seriously wrong with Nominet.

I just mailed Nominet awaiting some explanation about why they allowed someone to steal my domain name. Was identity thief involved in this?

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Posted at 08:47PM Feb 16, 2009 by Michal Nowak in Personal
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