I'd received this scam before, but I just got it again, and I'm going to write about it on my blog...They email you to say that someone in China is trying to register the same domain name as yours but with an extension for China. If you write back and tell them that you own the domain name, they offer to sell the Chinese extension one to you for some exorbitant amount. They try to scare you into buying it and make it sound like it's life or death that you do.

If you've ever bought domain names, you'll know that this is a scam, since anyone can register anything as long as nobody has it registered already. No company is going to write to try to "clear it" with you before they register a name.

Here's the email:

Dear President&CEO,

This is a Network Service Company which is the domain name registration center in HongKong,China.
On June.13, 2011, we received an application from Meihua Holdings Group requested"acaketoremember"
as their internet trademark keyword and China (.CN ) domain names. But after checking ,we find this name is conflict
with your company's name or trademark. In order to deal with this issue better, it's necessary to send this email
to you and confirm with your company whether this company is your distributor or business partner in China?
If you did not authorize, please let us know within 7 workdays, so that we will handle this issue better.

Looking forward to your reply

Best regards,

Alice

Alice Zhou
Checking Department

Jeeze, if people worked as hard at a real, honest job as they do to scam others, they could make more money. Thanks for letting us know.

'Checking Department'? You'd think they'd come up with a more official sounding department title! Perhaps the 'Looking Into Department'. LOL!!

Another domain name scam is a broker or non broker will email you telling you your domain is about to expire and to pay $xxx (range I have received is from $75 to $200) immediately so you don't lose your website. Thing is, the company is not the company the holds my domain name. My domain (not my cake site) is through yahoo, and was included with my website hosting, so I don't owe an annual fee.

I am sure I am not the only person who received this email since the "To" said undisclosed recipients...LOL

Even better is when you get a "bill" in the mail from a domain registrar who is not yours wanting to renew your domains. At a higher rate, of course. And stealing business from whoever you currently use for domain registration.

I believe that is the snail mail version of the emails I have received. I too have received snail mail bills. Crazy what people will do to steal money.

We had a gelato place here in Shanghai, a lovely husband and wife team who made their own gelato, opened a company, rented space and sold really well. They did not regster and copywrite their shop's name in China, it did belong to them OUTSIDE of China though. Well a "lady" found out and quickly registered and copywrited the name in China. he then proceeded to force them to pay her for the name. They closed shop instead and left

Because they would have had to go through all the process for registering a new business again and all the costs involved with that as well. Either way, they would have had to shell out big bucks again, which they couldn't afford with 2 kids. Also they got absolutely no help from the official side and completely lost any confidance, that it wouldn't happen again.
Tell the truth, we could understand them leaving, although we still miss the gelato