@ocean
They've been doing this for many years. You're right, it hits hard when it's you.
Maybe try it this way instead?:
~$ whois frankandbeanyboitoo.com
No match for domain "FRANKANDBEANYBOITOO.COM".
>>> Last update of whois database: 2026-04-26T23:08:23Z <<<
We correctly, rightfully, and accurately called them all cybersquatters back when, but then that term was legislated to mean something different, and "Domainers" as they still call themselves, came to prominence, seemingly legitimized by the process of semantic labelling - One noun is as good as the next, they're still fricken' cybersquatters as far as I'm concerned, because that's exactly what they're doing - they're squatting on a plot of land in the DNS name space, offering nothing of value themselves.
In the real world there are three types of symbiosis:
- Mutualism: Both the host and the symbiont benefit [the same] from this relationship - although in nature, true mutualism may not actually exist in it's entirety, the relationship between lampreys and sharks are often cited as an example of this kind of symbiotic relationship.
- Commensalism: This is a more realistic plateau whereby it is acknowledged that although neither party are harmed by their relationship, one organism definitely benefits more.
- Parasitism: Domainers, Cybersquatters, and other nouns have been used to identify these blood sucking leeches. The best insecticide is to never consider any offer above that of the standard retail price of registration by that of the registry itself. These insidious parasites wither and perish when they are unable to attach themselves to a host.
Automated scripts that run checking for domain registrations that have freshly fallen out of the redemption period are still a thing. What used to not be a thing was ICANN accredited registrars themselves engaging in this criminal behavior - Yeah, I said criminal. They can sue me.
In my case there were a few domains that slipped away, and for more than twenty years in one case the filthy cybersquatter (legitimized by congressional approval) sat on it, even traded it with another cybersquatter. Eventually, seeing that no one was ever going to pay their exorbitant ransom fees, they (the criminal squatters) themselves eventually let it fall into redemption, and then the black abyss below from which point these strings of characters ultimately will appear in the available name space for registration, but somewhat randomly.
That last bit was supposed to be punishment for the original registrant who let their registration renewal become so delinquent that they could no longer just renew following expiration, but have to spend a tidy (and in some cases, rather arbitrary) sum to "get their domain registration out of redemption".
But why would you pay so much, when you could just wait it out and just pay the standard registration fee at the end of it all? Early on, some folks had to shell out duckets in the neighborhood of $200, to their registration service providers.
The answer, was because someone was waiting in the shadows to snatch up their brand, their domain registration, and could ransom it for even more at that point.
So if you checked for the availability of your desired domain each day to see if it was back in the pool of available domain names (presumably using your registrars facilities to check - so they know you're still interested in claiming it again).
And suddenly it went from the post redemption black hole to coming up in your web based whois search as...
>"You can have this domain for $12,340 or make an offer!"
Man I feel your pain.
In my case, one of the domains came back to me after more than 20 years. The other one was only being ransomed for about three years before the cybersquatters let it go.
Remember, a domain is worth nothing above what the actual registrar charges for the resources under that Top-Level Domain. Period. Your Brand, however, can be worth considerably more, especially with service or trademarks, and therein lies one of the weaknesses of these cybersquatters (although you might pay less to ante up the ransom they demand). I think I've conveyed the idea sufficiently, and notwithstanding WIPO, and ICANN's UDRP, there's always the courts, and reimbursement is not unheard of.
I mention that because in your case it wasn't due to incompetence or negligence that left you without your brand (domain registration), you were spitballing and some nefarious parasite perked up when they said, "Hey I think we got a live one here, let's kidnap it!
And the rest is where things stand as of now.
I do indeed feel your pain, yet the first course of action, if you were planning on using a domain name to expand your brand's recognition, I usually recommend that people search through other Top-Level domains for that SLD and forget about the TLD that the blood sucking leeches snatched up, knowing it had meaning to you. Eventually, they'll have to decide whether it is worth it to continue renewal fees, because you've obviously moved on and have no further interest in the registration - and then, lo and behold, one day you notice that it's in the pool of available domain names again, and one of the registrars is running a special that month: First year $5.
And that's when you can say, Boom Shakalaka BOOM
#Cybersquatters #ransomers #domainers #UDRP #TRADEMARK #USPTO
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RE: https://raru.re/users/ocean/statuses/116461609325897641
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