Chinese Domain Registration Scam: A Guide on Self Protection

Dec 5, 2025, 10:49 AM

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Domain name scams are a long-standing and common form of fraud. In these schemes, cyber scammers attempt to deceive businesses into believing that they are looking to protect the company’s online brand. This scam appears in various forms, and over the years, brand owners and companies have remained the primary targets.

Specifically, there has been an ongoing concern among brands that receive emails purporting to be from a Chinese domain name registrar.

It is crucial for companies not to fall victim to these types of emails. This article discusses how to protect your business from such email scams.

What is the ‘Chinese Domain Name Registration Scam’?

This domain name registration scam email typically occurs when the target receives an email that is allegedly from a Chinese registrar, and supposedly accredited by the China National Network Information Centre (also known as CNNIC). These emails usually create a false sense of urgency as they claim that the victim’s business is in danger of an unrelated third-party registering their brand or trademark with the ‘.cn’ extension, for example, safenames.cn or safenames.com.cn.

If the victim falls prey to the email, the scammer will then, purportedly out of goodwill, offer to register for them the concerned .cn domain name(s) for a fee. Unsurprisingly, the requested price will be very high. But it is important for companies and brand owners to know that registering a .cn domain name does not cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.

The scammers’ goal is to manipulate victims into acting hastily so that they can gain from them financially. In reality, the entire scenario they claim is fabricated, there is no entity attempting to register .cn domain names using your brand or trademark.

How to Identify a Scam Email

Warning signs of a Chinese domain name registration scam email may include:

• Generic greetings such as “Dear CEO” or “Dear Sir”. This suggests that the scammer does not know the email recipient.
• The email address from the scammer is not from a legitimate business entity, often using generic or suspicious domains.
• If the scammer’s email uses a domain name, it is best to check the website of that domain to verify its legitimacy.
• The scammer will ask for a money transfer, such as PayPal or bank transfer, rather than payment through the registry.
• The email formatting will seem informal.
• The scammer may request formal documents from the recipient.
• Grammar and spelling mistakes may be present, although AI may make them harder to spot.

An example of a recent scam email reads as follows:

How to Protect Yourself

Should you receive such an email, do not respond, click on any links or provide any additional information to the scammer. It is good practice to immediately report the email as spam and consult your IT department or the registrar company that the scammer is claiming to be from. Proceed to delete the email.

If you wish to take extra precaution, you should consider the following:

• Actively monitor your brand name/trademarks with ‘.cn’ extensions.
• Set up expiration reminders for the domain names you own, especially those with a ‘.cn’ extension.
• Verify domain names independently using trusted domain registration platforms.
• Educate your team to ensure colleagues and employees do not fall victim to scam emails.

If brand owners are concerned with third parties registering .cn domains with their brand and/or trademarks, we encourage owners to defensively register .cn domains that are of interest. Alternatively, in the unfortunate situation where a domain has already been registered by the scammer, brand owners and companies have the option to pursue the legal route and recover any infringing domain names through domain arbitration proceedings, such as the China Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (CNDRP).

It is important to stay vigilant and remember that not all domain-related emails are legitimate. Speak to your trusted registrar or online brand protection provider if you have any doubts.