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Until last year, I was completely unaware of this problem. I made a stupid, stupid mistake - registered a .us TLD using “Google Domains” - within minutes of reg

by dxbydt 4y ago

Until last year, I was completely unaware of this problem. I made a stupid, stupid mistake - registered a .us TLD using “Google Domains” - within minutes of registration, the calls started. Some Indian voice offering website construction, ios app, android app, tech support, on & on…over 100 calls in a single week! Used call block but they kept coming. They switch numbers and send 1000s of text messages - neverending spam. I wrote to Google support and they pointed to the fineprint - cannot enable privacy on .us tld ! So the phone number will remain public. Calls kept coming. Over 1000 calls! Finally bit the bullet and changed my phone number. Will never ever buy anything from google domains. I sure hope the FTC goes after these spammers and the telcos who enable this sort of behavior.

binkHN 4y ago
> cannot enable privacy on .us tld Interesting! Never knew this!
bcrosby95 4y ago
It's not Google's fault. This is the rule for .us domains. Blame the US government.
ipqk 4y ago
But that's not a Google Domains issue, it's a .us issue. All registrars cannot enable privacy on .us domains.
dreamcompiler 4y ago
I learned this the hard way too. Not with Google domains, but another registrar. I was getting dozens of calls a day from Indian voices proposing to create a website for me. Switched the WHOIS data to private and that slowed it down but didn't stop it. This was two years ago and I'm still getting about one call a day. I've since learned there are caching services for WHOIS data that will sell you historical contact data. Obviously the Indian fraudsters are using these services. The days of friendly WHOIS are over. Never register a domain without setting the privacy flag.
kevmarsden 4y ago
That sounds like a nightmare, but I wouldn't let that experience sour your opinion of Google Domains. I actively avoid Google products, but Google Domains is an exception. They make limited upsell appeals, their pricing is straight forward, and if it's available, they include privacy protection with the annual cost. And they are clear about the lack of privacy protection for .us domains. This text appears when checking out: "Privacy protection is not supported for .US domains."
theGnuMe 4y ago
After a hail storm comes thru, hundreds of calls from "roofers".

by dxbydt 4y ago

binkHN 4y ago

> cannot enable privacy on .us tld Interesting! Never knew this!

bcrosby95 4y ago

It's not Google's fault. This is the rule for .us domains. Blame the US government.

ipqk 4y ago

But that's not a Google Domains issue, it's a .us issue. All registrars cannot enable privacy on .us domains.

dreamcompiler 4y ago

I learned this the hard way too. Not with Google domains, but another registrar. I was getting dozens of calls a day from Indian voices proposing to create a website for me. Switched the WHOIS data to private and that slowed it down but didn't stop it. This was two years ago and I'm still getting about one call a day. I've since learned there are caching services for WHOIS data that will sell you historical contact data. Obviously the Indian fraudsters are using these services. The days of friendly WHOIS are over. Never register a domain without setting the privacy flag.

kevmarsden 4y ago

That sounds like a nightmare, but I wouldn't let that experience sour your opinion of Google Domains. I actively avoid Google products, but Google Domains is an exception. They make limited upsell appeals, their pricing is straight forward, and if it's available, they include privacy protection with the annual cost. And they are clear about the lack of privacy protection for .us domains. This text appears when checking out: "Privacy protection is not supported for .US domains."

theGnuMe 4y ago

After a hail storm comes thru, hundreds of calls from "roofers".