It usually arrives out of nowhere. A person claiming to work for a domain registration center or network authority says another company wants to register your brand name as several .cn domains – maybe example.cn, example.com.cn, example.net.cn, and so on.
They make it sound urgent, official, and protective:
“We have received an application from another company to register your brand as their domain name. Please confirm whether this company is related to you.”
A few days later, another message may follow – supposedly from that other company, insisting they will go ahead unless you stop them.
What’s really happening
It’s a coordinated scam.
The senders pretend to be a Chinese registrar or business contact, but they’re not connected to any legitimate organization. Their goal is simple:
to make you anxious enough to buy .cn domains through them at a high markup.
They sometimes use real company names and addresses to look credible, but they have nothing to do with the actual businesses they mention.
Red flags to recognize
There is no global approval process for .cn domains. Anyone can register one through a real registrar.
“Internet keyword” is an outdated concept that no real service uses anymore.
The language is always urgent: “This is very important,” “Please forward to your CEO,” “We are waiting for your approval.”
The emails usually come from non-official domains or generic addresses.
What to do
Do not reply. Any response confirms your address is active.
Mark it as spam or phishing.
If you actually want the .cn domains, register them yourself through a known registrar such as Gandi, Namecheap, Alibaba Cloud, or Tencent Cloud.
No one can take your main domain. Your .com, .net, or .org address is unaffected.
Why this scam still works
It plays on fear – the fear of losing your name or brand. The email feels official enough to make a small company owner react quickly. But domain ownership doesn’t work that way. There’s no approval process, and no registrar will ever email you asking for permission about a name you don’t own.
The takeaway
If someone contacts you claiming another company wants to register your .cn domain, relax.
It’s not a threat – it’s a sales trick. Ignore it, mark it as spam, and carry on building your site.
Tom's IT Cafe 