I keep my portfolio of domain names at GoDaddy, and I have DTVS security enabled on my account. Domain Sherpa wrote about DTVS, but in short, when I push a domain name to another GoDaddy account or someone starts a transfer of my domain name to another domain registrar, I have to approve the change via phone call.
With Afternic’s Fast Transfer service enabled, GoDaddy’s DTVS is overridden. When someone buys a Fast Transfer-authorized domain name through the Afternic network, the domain name is automatically pushed or transferred without the DTVS phone call since the Fast Transfer was previously authorized by the seller.
In light of the ongoing issue with the Fast Transfer authorization emails, I think GoDaddy should allow customers with DTVS to have that override Fast Transfer approval.
I do my best to ensure the FT authorization links I click are names that I added to my account. With many emails coming, there is a chance I could screw up and click one I shouldn’t. Because these emails can be triggered 60 days after a domain name is transferred to GoDaddy and/or when a domain name is repriced, these emails may be sent seemingly out of the blue. These emails come directly from GoDaddy, so this isn’t a case of phishing with an official looking emails. Some of these are authentic emails generated because of fraudulently listed domain names.
The way I would like this to work is as follows. When one of my Afternic-listed names is sold via its network, I will receive an email notifying me of the sale. Within 24 hours, I will receive the DTVS phone call. If I don’t receive the sale email prior to the phone call, I can reject the transfer and ask GoDaddy to investigate. If I somehow missed the sale email, which has never happened, GoDaddy can confirm the domain name was sold from within my account and I can approve. If my domain name was sold out of someone else’s Afternic account, I can deny the transfer and GoDaddy can take it from there.
At the present time, I don’t know of any cases of this being exploited by bad actors. If you had a GoDaddy-registered domain name that was taken from your account via Fast Transfer because it was sold out of someone else’s Afternic account, please report it and share details. On the other hand, I don’t know if someone or group of people is setting up low priced sale listings to purchase at an Afternic partner at a future time.
I’ve said this multiple times and I will repeat it. People need to be vigilant and not blindly approve authorization emails from GoDaddy. These emails are how domain names are approved for Fast Transfer. However, until GoDaddy is able to get a handle on this, I think they should allow customers to override Fast Transfer approvals with DTVS to ensure an extra step before domain names are released.
While I agree with the concern, your idea breaks the system of Fast Transfer. The idea is that buyers can purchase the domain and get it into their account within minutes.
I’m not sure what clawback provisions Afternic has with Fast Transfer partners, but perhaps the DTVS call could come after the fact and the domain could be clawed back if it wasn’t sold from your account.
I sold a FT name via Afternic on 1/22 and got the transfer is done email on 1/24. I doubt it would slow things down too much.
I could be wrong, but I believe that those emails are just sent later than when the domain actually transfers. The transfer is within a few minutes.