[http://www.icann.org/images/gradlogo_bow.jpg]<http://www.icann.org/> News Alert http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-07nov13-en.htm ________________________________ Bulk Transfer of Domain Names from Cheapies.com Inc. to Tucows Domains Inc. 7 November 2013 ICANN has authorized the bulk transfer of gTLD domain names from Cheapies.com Inc. to Tucows Domains Inc. due to compliance actions taken by ICANN that resulted in the de-accreditation of Cheapies.com Inc. The affected gTLD registries have processed the bulk transfers. Former registrant-customers of Cheapies.com Inc. should receive notices from Tucows advising of the transfer. Customer questions about the transfer should be directed to Tucows (for contact details see http://www.internic.net/registrars/registrar-69.html or visit the website directly at http://www.tucows.com/). Additional information about these bulk transfers is provided below. FAQs Q. Why were these transfers authorized by ICANN? A. The Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) of Cheapies.com Inc. was terminated for failure by the registrar to comply with its RAA. Cheapies.com Inc.'s RAA terminated on 26 October 2013 and the termination notice is posted here: ICANN Sends Notice of Termination<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/serad-to-jeske-11oct13-en.pdf> [PDF, 151 KB]. As a result, Cheapies.com Inc. is no longer permitted to register or manage gTLD registrations. ICANN authorized bulk transfers pursuant to the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy to ensure that the registrant-customers of this registrar would not be harmed by their registrar's discontinued ability to manage the registrations. Q. How was the gaining registrar selected? A. ICANN followed its De-Accredited Registrar Transition Procedure (see http://www.icann.org/en/resources/registrars/drt/dartp-11jul13-en.pdf [PDF, 129 KB]) to identify a gaining registrar for the gTLD names formerly managed by the de-accredited registrar. Through this process, Tucows was identified. Q. Will Tucows attempt to contact the affected registrants? What should customers of this de-accredited registrar do now? A. Former customers of this registrar should receive a notice of the transfer and instructions for continued management of their names from Tucows. Affected customers who do not receive notices from Tucows should contact Tucows by using the contact information provided at http://www.internic.net/registrars/registrar-69.html. Q. Do registrants have to pay a fee for the bulk transfer? A. No, there is no cost to registrants for the bulk transfer. Unlike a normal inter-registrar transfer, the registration terms will not be extended by a year. Accordingly, it is important to contact Tucows if your registration will expire soon in order to maintain your registration. Q. What if affected registrants want to select a different registrar? A. Registrants will continue to be able to transfer their registrations to other registrars under the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (see http://www.icann.org/en/transfers/). Note that Tucows may deny transfers for the first 60 days following the bulk transfer, at its discretion. This 60-day period is permissible under the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy and is intended to help protect registrants. The registrant may need to renew names that will expire during the first 60 days following the transfer to Tucows by using the details provided above. Q. How will Cheapies customers know if a message purportedly from Tucows is legitimate? A. The message from Tucows should direct you to its website or refer you to other contact information provided above. For general advice about avoiding phishing email messages, you may also wish to refer to the materials prepared by the Anti-Phishing Working Group (see http://www.antiphishing.org/resources/overview/avoid-phishing-scams).