WHOIS Contact Details Abused

Question

The system for the internet and the way people can abuse it is getting worse and worse. I am having several issues with people abusing the information within my WHOIS, which if I remember is protected by international laws, or at least should be.

Thanks to an email and what I was taught when it comes to doing business online:

Please remember that under the terms of your registration agreement, the provision of false Whois information can be grounds for cancellation of your domain name registration.

I am receiving phone calls, spam emails, and threats.

I do know that my information is public, but it should not be abused because of that? Yes, I do know that I can buy the packages of private registration, but I do not exactly have $10 extra to spare in a year for my website.

Is there a way to report the people who is abusing this information? Should I actually spend my money on the private registration, even though my information is being abused and most likely recorded on their computer? What is the best way to handle this abuse of my information?

Answer 1

people abusing the information within my WHOIS, which if I remember is protected by international laws, or at least should be.

I'm pretty sure there's nothing at all to that effect. There are terms and conditions put in place by service provider companies, but at best people are bound by them as far as they are enforced. There is very little "international law"; there are treaties, which various countries incorporate (or not) into their national legislation, but I doubt there's any international treaty specifically for domain registration "whois" information.

I am receiving phone calls, spam emails, and threats.

What makes you think the spam has anything to do with you having published contact details in whois? You're doing business online, wouldn't phone calls be fairly expected if you have a company? If you aren't using specifically crafted contact details that you use only in your domain registration, how do you know that whois information is even the culprit? Threats, now that's more serious.

I do know that my information is public, but it should not be abused because of that?

It should not, but there's no technical way to prevent it from being. For example, VeriSign / Network Solutions whois includes the following "terms of use" in the whois output:

By submitting a Whois query, you agree to abide by the following terms of use: You agree that you may use this Data only for lawful purposes and that under no circumstances will you use this Data to: (1) allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations via e-mail, telephone, or facsimile; ...

This would seem to cover most of what you mention, but if no one enforces it, then there isn't a whole lot you can do about it. I'm pretty sure that text is mostly there to cover their rear, not really to meaningfully protect the customer.

Is there a way to report the people who is abusing this information? Should I actually spend my money on the private registration, even though my information is being abused and most likely recorded on their computer? What is the best way to handle this abuse of my information?

If you are receiving threats, or are being harassed, you should contact your local law enforcement and provide them with any pertient information. As for spam, that's just par for the course on the Internet these days unfortunately; I recommend installing a good spam filter and training it well.

Answer 2

Buy a prepaid phone number, and make sure that it keeps on working if you don't use it. I have a second prepaid simcard and have to use it every six months or it gets cancelled. So I have to send one sms per six months and that's it. Use this for registration.

I guess email is not a big problem - don't use your private mail here. I'm right now trying to change the info for my domains, and I can use an address from the ISP for technical and administrative contact.