Image thanks to Flickr user Tax Credits used under an Attribution License

The security experts at Securi are calling attention to the latest version of a 15-year-old scam where you’re invited to “renew” your domain registration… but wind up transferring your domain to someone else.  Usually for more money.

When I received a letter in the mail asking me to renew my domain name, I immediately recognized it as a scam. The letter was designed to look like a bill, even including a return envelope for me to send payment to a company called iDNS Canada. I’d never heard of them before.

…

It’s also worth noting that these kinds of “offline scams” prey on people who inherently distrust doing business on the internet. Some people consider offline communication to be more more trustworthy. Everyone expects spam in their inbox, but not in their mailbox.

Source: Sucuri blog

Bottom line: Only renew your domain registrations with, you know, your actual domain registrar.  Even if your postal worker delivers the “bill” in a paper envelope.