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Frequently asked questions

  • I am looking for a domain name registrant. Where can I look it up?

    The Whois is an easy-to-use tool for checking the availability of a .nl domain name. If the domain name is already taken, you can see who has registered it.

    On the page looking up a domain name you will find more information about what a domain name is, how the Whois works and how the privacy of personal data is protected. Alternatively, you can go straight to look for a domain name via the Whois.

  • I would like to transfer my domain name to another registrar. What is the procedure?

    To get your domain name transferred, you need the token (unique ID number) for your domain name. Your existing registrar has the token and is obliged to give it to you within five days, if you ask for it. The procedure for changing your registrar is described on the page transferring your domain name.

  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date. How can I get them updated?

    To update the contact details associated with your domain name, you need to contact your registrar. Read more about updating contact details.

  • Why is my domain name in quarantine?

    When a domain name is cancelled, we aren't told the reason, so we can't tell you. You'll need to ask your registrar. The advantage of quarantine is that, if a name's cancelled by mistake, you can always get it back.

    One common reason is that the contract between you and your registrar says you've got to renew the registration every year. If you haven't set up automatic renewal and you don't renew manually, the registration will expire.

  • Ik heb een klacht over mijn provider/registrar. Kan ik daarvoor bij SIDN terecht?

    Wanneer je een klacht hebt over of een geschil met je registrar dan zijn er verschillende mogelijkheden om tot een oplossing te komen. Hierover lees je meer op pagina klacht over registrar. SIDN heeft geen formele klachtenprocedure voor het behandelen van een klacht over jouw registrar.

  • What conditions do I have to meet as a registrar?

    Would you like to be able to register domain names for customers or for your own organisation by dealing directly with SIDN? If so, you can become a .nl registrar. Read more about the conditions and how to apply for registrar status on the page becoming a registrar.

More frequently asked questions

Fake media websites are the latest scam

RTL News site spoofed by cybercrooks

  • Friday 13 March 2020

Now that more and more organisations are monitoring their brands online, cybercrooks are looking for new ways in. Domain names resembling well-known media titles and trade journals are the latest scam. Media-oriented typosquatting was one of the main phishing trends in 2019. And, in the last few weeks, we've seen a lot of fake sites trying to lure visitors with news about COVID-19. There was a fake news bulletin about the closure of schools and universities, for example, pretending to be from RTL News.

Going under the radar

Phishing with fake media sites enables fraudsters to go under most big organisations' radar. While the organisations monitor for registrations that look like their brand names, the crooks are registering names that resemble the titles of journals and media outlets that write about the brands. They might go for a domain name echoing the title of a financial news site, for example. That name is then used to publish 'news' about a bank, with a link to a phishing site made to look like that bank's. The tactic enables the scammers to take advantage of the media title's profile in order to defraud customers of the brand without needing a domain name that would attract the brand owner's attention. Because the brand owners are looking out for things that look like their brands, not media titles.

Content-focused monitoring is important

With the new threat in mind, we're investing more in content-focused monitoring. That means looking for web pages that ask for card details, when they don't have links to payment service providers, for example. Or sites with content relating to high-profile brands plus links to dubious URLs. In the course of 2020, we'll be investigating the scope for building relevant new forms of monitoring into SIDN BrandGuard.