investigating who owns a domain

[don6644]

I have a website that's under my real name. I made it a long time ago when I was stupid and didn't know you can put fake whois info.

I do some stuff on there that could expose me to the risk of a lawsuit. not as bad as running a movie streaming site, i just put in some pictures that i stole from google images, most likely these pictures are copyrighted and not free to use. and i also make some questionable claims on the site (sometimes i exaggerate the truth, sometimes i flat out lie)

i want to get this website out of my name and put all fake information in whois and hosting. what I am trying to figure out is the best way of doing this.

1) do I just update the names in current domain registrar and host? or do I transfer to another domain registrar and host and give the new domain registrar and host fake name and address?
2) if a nasty law firm decides to sue, does the previous owner (me) have any liability? is the law firm going to believe that I really no longer manage this domain? or they are going to see through the fake transfer? If asked, I just say I was tired of this business and I gave it to someone else?
3) will their investigations go as far as them asking my hosting provider what ip addresses log in to manage this website? or they just send a few letters to the fake identity and give up after realizing this person doesn't exist?

 

[Peter Ngo]

I have a website that's under my real name. I made it a long time ago when I was stupid and didn't know you can put fake whois info.

I do some stuff on there that could expose me to the risk of a lawsuit. not as bad as running a movie streaming site, i just put in some pictures that i stole from google images, most likely these pictures are copyrighted and not free to use. and i also make some questionable claims on the site (sometimes i exaggerate the truth, sometimes i flat out lie)

i want to get this website out of my name and put all fake information in whois and hosting. what I am trying to figure out is the best way of doing this.

1) do I just update the names in current domain registrar and host? or do I transfer to another domain registrar and host and give the new domain registrar and host fake name and address?
2) if a nasty law firm decides to sue, does the previous owner (me) have any liability? is the law firm going to believe that I really no longer manage this domain? or they are going to see through the fake transfer? If asked, I just say I was tired of this business and I gave it to someone else?
3) will their investigations go as far as them asking my hosting provider what ip addresses log in to manage this website? or they just send a few letters to the fake identity and give up after realizing this person doesn't exist?

1. There is definitely whois records regardless of whether you manage to change the whois records now, you can download a sample report here: https://domainreport.domaintools.com/
2. They can also use Wayback Machine to verify that you are the same person, no?
3. If you ever get sued, there will be traces. How hard they would press would be depending on how much they want to sue.
4. For hosting, you can use bulletproof hosting or DMCA ignored hosting to mitigate this. But it also depending on how serious the issue is.

I would just drop the domain and work on another domain if you are worried.

 

[don6644]

1. There is definitely whois records regardless of whether you manage to change the whois records now, you can download a sample report here: https://domainreport.domaintools.com/
2. They can also use Wayback Machine to verify that you are the same person, no?
3. If you ever get sued, there will be traces. How hard they would press would be depending on how much they want to sue.
4. For hosting, you can use bulletproof hosting or DMCA ignored hosting to mitigate this. But it also depending on how serious the issue is.

I would just drop the domain and work on another domain if you are worried.

thanks
1) granted, whois shows I owned this domain some time in the past. now someone else owns it. why would they sue the previous owner?
2) wayback machine shows the website design has remained the same over the years. I am not sure how that's relevant. I gave the website to someone else and he didn't change the design
3) I can't drop this domain. there is years of hard work and money behind this website.

 

[Peter Ngo]

thanks
1) granted, whois shows I owned this domain some time in the past. now someone else owns it. why would they sue the previous owner?
2) wayback machine shows the website design has remained the same over the years. I am not sure how that's relevant. I gave the website to someone else and he didn't change the design
3) I can't drop this domain. there is years of hard work and money behind this website.

Well I mean, we are speaking hypothetically here

Assuming I am a lawyer, let's say I can't find the current owner, logically, I will try to get in touch with the previous owner to find more information. It would definitely traced back to you. Whether they would have evidence to show that you are the owner or not, that's a different story, they might or might not.

At the end of the day, it really depends on how far they want to go, make sure you seek professional help since most of us here are just speculating.

 

[uncutu]

risk of lawsuit for these things are low. generally you will get a dmca email first asking you to remove the content

yes there exists whois historical data. so lets say you move the domain to a registrar under whois/fake name, a historical query may pull up your real name from the past.

really just depends on how much the opposing legal counsel wants to sue you. hypothetical guessing games are as productive as counting sheep.

if you are seriously worried about this, talk to a lawyer who specializes in internet/cyber field.

if it was me, just transfer to another registrar that is signed up under fake name/different cc/vpn ip + whois privacy. may as well move servers too.

 

[CanuckSEO]

go as far as them asking my hosting provider what ip addresses log in to manage this website?

Most hosting companies have policies in place to ensure that attorneys cannot subpoena information for a civil case. For example, GoDaddy's policy states: Upon receiving a valid civil subpoena, GoDaddy will promptly notify the customer whose information is being requested via email or U.S. mail. Unless the situation constitutes an emergency, GoDaddy will not immediately provide the customer information sought by the subpoena and will give the customer an opportunity to file a motion to quash the subpoena in court.

 

[don6644]

Most hosting companies have policies in place to ensure that attorneys cannot subpoena information for a civil case. For example, GoDaddy's policy states: Upon receiving a valid civil subpoena, GoDaddy will promptly notify the customer whose information is being requested via email or U.S. mail. Unless the situation constitutes an emergency, GoDaddy will not immediately provide the customer information sought by the subpoena and will give the customer an opportunity to file a motion to quash the subpoena in court.

I can't speak as to "most hosting companies" policies.
however, I disagree with your interpretation of the godaddy policy you quoted. they key is they won't "immediately" disclose the info. motion to quash will be denied because most judges are idiots.

 

[Enchant]

Those hosting companies will give you up, but not right away. They will give you a chance to fix it, but once you don't comply, they are going to give you up.

 

[CanuckSEO]

however, I disagree with your interpretation of the godaddy policy you quoted. they key is they won't "immediately" disclose the info.

Yes, because they give you the opportunity to file a motion in court to quash the subpoena. A judge will quash the motion if it's frivolous. Remember, this is a civil matter. The catch is that if you don't have a legitimate case, you obviously won't file, and GoDaddy will disclose the information.

If they can only subpoena your ISP, they'll likely encounter the same issue. Brand new lawyers out of law school are charging $150+ an hour in the USA. Is it worth spending potentially tens of thousands of dollars to pursue you? Likely not. Sometimes the juice isn't worth the squeeze.

 

[waffeunurvinw]

even i used privacy, i get calls from local companies to get hosting, design stuff from them. How do they get my details?b/n i use top company hosting.

 

[don6644]

Yes, because they give you the opportunity to file a motion in court to quash the subpoena. A judge will quash the motion if it's frivolous. Remember, this is a civil matter. The catch is that if you don't have a legitimate case, you obviously won't file, and GoDaddy will disclose the information.

If they can only subpoena your ISP, they'll likely encounter the same issue. Brand new lawyers out of law school are charging $150+ an hour in the USA. Is it worth spending potentially tens of thousands of dollars to pursue you? Likely not. Sometimes the juice isn't worth the squeeze.

if what you are saying is true, motion to quash will not be granted and godaddy will give you up. the lawsuit is not frivolous, you stole someone's image, they are suing you for copyright. so as far as I'm concerned godaddy's policy is bullshit, it won't protect you at all, it will just delay giving you up for a few days. and I don't understand how just filing the motion to quash doesn't disclose your identity anyway. can you motion to quash anonymously? they need to know who you are when you are filing the motion.

you are probably right about the juice not worth the squeeze, I dont have any real estate to my name and i am a nobody, they probably researched me already and realized I am a loser and they wont get anything.

 

[IM666]

Transfer to Offshore Domain Register

 

[CanuckSEO]

if what you are saying is true, motion to quash will not be granted and godaddy will give you up. the lawsuit is not frivolous, you stole someone's image, they are suing you for copyright. so as far as I'm concerned godaddy's policy is bullshit, it won't protect you at all, it will just delay giving you up for a few days. and I don't understand how just filing the motion to quash doesn't disclose your identity anyway. can you motion to quash anonymously? they need to know who you are when you are filing the motion.

With all due respect, it doesn't seem like have any understanding of how most legal systems works. You can file anonymously if your motion to quash is about keeping your identity private from third parties (i.e., the person trying to subpoena your information from GoDaddy).