Domain name theft is a very real threat to a domainer. Not only can your domain be stolen but you could also end up buying stolen domain names.
So, here are a few steps to protect yourself from domain name theft:
1. Make sure you whois record is current. In general, whois records tell searchers who owns a particular domain, their email address and their physical address.
If you go to whois dotcom and enter your domain name, you should see all your relevant information.
It is against The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) rules to have false whois information or information that is not current.
No what is the importance of this?
Well, let us say that you register a great domain. To register a name you must state an email address which your registrar will use to contact you.
Now, let us say that you stop using that email for sometime and the email account is closed due to inactivity. A thief could re-register that email and request a password reminder from your domain registrar and hence - get access to your domains.
2. Safeguard your email password. If someone gets a hold of your email password, he could then change that password and lock you out of your own email.
He then could proceed to request a password reminder from your domain registrar. After he accesses your domain registrar, he could then go on to change the password and have full access to all your domains.
If you check your email from a public internet cafe - ensure that you don't request that your password be automatically saved. Some browsers give you this option.
3. Lock your domains. This is one of the best ways to protect yourself from domain name theft. Registrars offer this service free - making it harder for a thief to transfer out your name.
4. Pay attention to correspondence from your domain registrar. When your domain name is in the process of being transferred from your account to another account at the same or a different registrar, you get an email.
This email from the registrar notifiers you of the transfer and gives you time to respond if the transfer is fraudulent.
5. Be careful of domain sellers. Thieves eventually want to sell the domains they steal. So if you are about to buy domains from someone you don't know - google the domain being sold to see if it is reported stolen.
You could also visit the various domain forums such as Namepros and DnForum and do a search there for any reports of the domain being stolen.
Following these steps should not only help to protect you from domain name theft but ultimately protect you from losing money.