Mashable published an article about how the founder of Ramshackle Glam was able to recover her allegedly stolen domain name and website. The article was written by Jordan Reid, the website’s founder, and I think it is a must read for domain investors.
One thing I found interesting was how the author reported that she was able to get control of the domain name without having to release the funds to the “seller” after using Escrow.com to facilitate the transaction.
According to the article:
“I immediately transferred the domain into a different account and placed it (and all of my other domain names) on what amounted to lockdown. And then I called the wire transfer company and placed a stop on the payment.”
I was bothered by the mention that a stop payment could potentially be made on a wire transfer after a domain name had been successfully transferred (not with respect to this situation but in general). After reading the article, I reached out to Escrow.com President Brandon Abbey to inquire about this. Brandon commented that “Escrow.com is holding the funds based on the proper legal authorities filing the necessary paperwork with the judicial system. We strictly follow the Escrow Law. That is what licensed escrow companies do.”
It was a bit disconcerting to read that someone could put a hold on a wire transfer after receiving a domain transfer, but that wasn’t exactly what happened in this situation. I am glad Brandon was able to clear that up for me because it was alarming.
I am glad the author of the Mashable article was able to recover her domain name and website. I am sure that was an awful experience for her. On a sidenote, I strongly recommend adding two factor authentication for your domain name registrar accounts to help prevent domain name theft. Many domain registrars offer 2 factor authentication at no additional charge, and it’s well worth the minor inconvenience associated with having it enabled.
What if someone abuse this loophole to get your domain and put you in this mess for couple of months just because they want to mess with you?
Honestly I was bothered too, she should not have used escrow to recover her name but instead a better legal way. In this case this would be depromoting escrow.com services but also at the same time it values the escrow.com as a prominent service that scammer will try to stay away from escrow.com
But In general this can be very concerning loophole for people who just want to mess with you to waste your time
For example if someone sue you such as UDRP or other legal case for the domain name you own, first they buy domain name and then they just file a case and try to hold the funds until the case is resolved???
So you just have away name to someone for months until case is settled and lose revenue etc and if the guy who is buying your name is from other country so you will never recover your name and also funds are held etc
Now escrow should update their TOS and also in serious transactions there now should be a waiver for premium domains to avoid hassle.
there is the situation the legal way is perfect