Re: [registrars] DROA Notice

[Ross Rader <ross@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Jim Archer wrote:
> Part of the problem is that ICANN has created a transfer policy, with 
> the support of this constituency, that promotes exactly this type of 
> activity. We get frequent support calls from customers who have been 
> tricked and are upset about it.
> Registrars should be the primary point of contact with their customers.  
> We know our customers and how to contact them.  We should be allowed to 
> deny a transfer if our customer does not affirmatively allow it.  If a 
> registrar was allowed to protect their customers, then the Panix 
> situation never would have happened and registrars could rightly claim 
> to be a protector of the customer's property.
Both of your contentions are factually incorrect Jim. Transfer fraud 
preys on uninformed registrants. Hijackings exploit implementation flaws 
at a local level. The transfer policy provides substantial protection 
for registrants, in the form of locks and other mechanisms. Do you use 
these mechanisms to help your customers protect themselves? The notion 
that registrars are going to manually verify each transfer out and 
cancel those that are inappropriate is about as ridiculous that every 
registrant is going to proactively lock their domain name, use a strong 
password and not pay renewal fees to third parties they've never heard of.
-ross