With so many scams going on, it can be very hard to tell if the domain name you are buying is "clean". By clean, I mean Not Stolen.

First, you should always deal with sellers that have been around for a fair amount of time. Have great trader rating feedback. The seller should be very Open and willing to provide any information you ask, regarding the sale. You can never be to safe, so doing your homework, can save you a big headache in the long run.

Another safety net, is if the seller is a member of www.DNOA.org which you can check.

1.) If you are interested in purchasing a domain, do some history checks on the domain! Your first stop, should be www.Whois.sc and compare some info. Check for any recent whois changes in the History. Mainly the email. If you see an email of a Free service like Gmail or Yahoo etc, this should be a red flag. These types of email address are pretty easily hacked and 9 times out of 10, when there is an issue with a domain name, it goes back to a free email service.

I have talked about it in the past. Never use an email address from a free service for your accounts at a registrar. If you have to, register a specific domain and only use it for your email. Make sure to use that email often, so you will notice if something has changed with it!

2.) If there was a recent change in ownership for the domain in the whois (email or full change), contact the old owner and verify the domain name was Sold to the person who you are currently buying it from. Now keep in mind, many domains are purchased threw service like NameJet.com, Pool.com and SnapNames.com, but whois history should clearly show the domain was in expired status. You can also Google the sellers Email address, because people post Fraudulent email address that scammers have used.

3.) If all checks out well, you should still use an Escrow Service for a further safety measure. Escrow.com is one of the best and I would suggest using them! Keep in mind, even when using Escrow, and if there is fraud detected, it could be a very long time to get your money back, so keep that in mind.

4.) Use common sense! If something seems "to good to be true", it is! Just walk away if your gut is telling something is fishy, BUT do not stay silent about your gut feeling. Contact a member on a domain forum and ask for a second option from a trusted member or a Mod. Ask them look into it and get their thoughts on the domain. If they also feel it’s a fraud, It is always best to go public to help Stop what happened and prevent others from falling into the scam. If you do go public, you better have strong proof of things not matching up, so use your best judgement.

Where are some safe places to buy domains? Your safest will be domains that have Expired or are expiring. Like Pending Delete domains, Pre-Release domains from NameJet.com etc. If you are buying domains from TDNAM.com and the domain is listed for sale by a Seller, you need to do your homework. The same would go for sites like Afternic.com, Sedo.com, eBay.com  and SnapNames.com or any service that allows SELLERS to list domains for sale.

If you are buying from an entity, you simply need to do your homework for your safety! I personally do a good deal of checking before I buy any domain and I think most trusted sellers, do the same. If you have any questions, I will be willing to help, but keep in mind, I am only one person! Domain Forums that I have posted on the right side of DotWeekly.com will help dearly.

Jamie Zoch