Website in my name that's not mine?

February 26, 2020 4:51 PM

I registered a couple of domain names but never did anything with them. Subsequently, I began to receive spam calls about services for these websites. WHOIS lookup, fair enough. But more recently I have received a couple of calls about a domain name I do not own, which links to an online casino site. This is a bit more concerning. Can I be liable for the actions of this site? Is there anything I should be doing about this?
posted by solarion to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Best answer: Does Whois list you as the owner? If not, I would ignore the calls.
posted by ananci at 5:21 PM on February 26, 2020 [4 favorites]

Best answer: No. Pay no attention to unsolicited calls to you about websites, domains, SEO, etc.

It would be a painful waste of time to try to "do something", and you can't stop anything like this from happening again. You'll never be found liable for these things existing.

25 years now in web development tells me: Flag it and move on. Period.
posted by humboldt32 at 9:38 AM on February 27, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Also, it's probably a good idea to enable WHOIS privacy on your domain if you don't have a PO Box and a phone number that isn't your normal phone number (e.g. a google voice number) as your listed contact info. While you're definitely not responsible for a site you don't own, there's plenty of things that a malicious actor *can* do with WHOIS info if they've a mind to do so. At the very least it makes spear phishing easier.
posted by Aleyn at 11:44 PM on February 27, 2020