There may come a time when you decide to let a domain name registration expire. But with cyber security on the rise, allowing a domain registration to lapse could pose some security risks.
Once a domain name expires and is released back onto the market, it may be registered by a third-party quite quickly. Any emails that continue to be sent to that address, could be captured by a catch-all address. Some of these emails may contain sensitive details about you, your business, your customers and/or your suppliers.
We would never ask you to keep something you don’t need.
If you do decide to let a domain lapse, we recommend that your customers and suppliers know well in advance. This is because the domain and any associated email addresses will no longer be active. Keeping hold of the domain name for an extra year, will give you enough time to pick up any issues. Also, to remind your customers or suppliers that the email address is no longer active.
You should also check that any accounts with any third-parties (such as social media accounts and online banking etc) are up to date with a new email address. If these are not updated, there’s a risk of the new registrant gaining access with password resets.
Are you really ready to give up your domain name?
If the domain has been released, it could be registered by a malicious third-party. Even if the third-party has the domain for a short period of time, it could cause a heap of damage to you and your business. They could approach your contacts, posing as you.
If you would like to renew, expired domain names usually have a ‘grace period’. This means that the domain name is suspended for an amount of time (dependent on suffix). Within this period, you may find that the domain name can still be renewed, whether this be at a standard renewal fee or at a higher fee (redemption period). The grace period occurs before the domain is deleted and released back onto the open market.
