PREVENT DOMAIN NAME SCAMS Western Australian businesses and organisations should urgently register versions of their domain name ending with ‘.au’ only by 20 September 2022 to stop scammers stealing their corporate identity.
The administrator of .au domain names, Domain Administration Limited (auDA), will allow domain names that end with .au only (i.e. without .com, .net, .org and other variations) to be available for the public to register from 3 October 2022. For example, if your current domain name is yourbusiness. com.au, the shorter version of yourbusiness.au will be available for the public to register, so we urge you to register the .au version of your domain name – even if you don’t intend to use it. Note: your existing domain names and websites can continue to exist as normal, so there’s no need to re-register these.
Key dates: • You have until 20 September 2022 to apply to for priority status to claim your current domain names to end just with the .au suffix. •
From 3 October 2022, the general public will be able to register for unclaimed .au only domain names.
Acting Executive Director for Consumer Protection Penny Lipscombe said businesses and organisations need to act quickly to protect their trading and brand names. “While the change to shorter domain names is designed to simplify, cyber criminals are rubbing their hands together by the prospect of financial gain by deceiving customers, contractors and members associated with the business or organisation through identify theft,” Ms Lipscombe said. Domain names that currently end with .com, .net .org etc. without the .au are not affected by this change. What to do: • Apply for Priority Status before 8am WA time on 21 September 2022, to register the .au direct match equivalent of your existing domain name. •
Use auDA’s Priority Status Tool to check your priority category or see if there are other registrants eligible for the .au direct name you seek.
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Contact WA ScamNet by calling 1300 30 40 54 if you think your domain name has been scammed.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: More details about business scams can be found on the WA ScamNet website or by calling 1300 30 40 54.