Is Dot TK a Scam ? |
.tk is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific.
You can read more about it on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.tk (or https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/.tk in French).
It allows any individual to register domain names.
Users and small businesses may register any number of domain names free of charge by going to http://www.dot.tk or https://www.freenom.com.
The home page welcomes you and allows to create your new domain name very quickly :
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The about page explains their mission : provide free domain names to improve social impact of people of Tokelau.
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The different pages of the Dot Tk website all very clearly advertise for completely free domain names :
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Description of the services clearly indicates again free domain names, no payment asked and unlimited renewals :
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and so do the Terms and Conditions as well :
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Content policies restrict the kind of content that can be published, amongst others they refuse p*rn*graphy, violence, etc.
Confident in every indication that was so clear, I decided to use that feature.
The first version of this SonyE6210 website, created on October 27th 2018, used .tk as an easy way to provide a shorter name to the users : http://sony-e-62-10.tk.
I then quickly received an email confirming my subscription :
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The creation of the domain sony-e-62-10.tk was successfull and I begun referring to it throughout a number of posts in forums.
During one year, everything worked perfectly.
In one year, I had about 10.000 visits (estimation), which is adequate for a non-profit, non-commercial website.
One year after
On October 28th, 2019, I connected to the website and I was horrified to see that it was replaced by a p*rn site :
I immediately connected to my www.freenom.com account and to my great surprise I had no subscription any more :
And no domain was registered any more either :
I found an email in the Contact page
and immediately sent an email to ask for support :
A few days after, I sent a reminder again
Today, I still don't have received any answer.
When I log again onto www.freenom.com, I could however ask for the availability of my former domain name, and again another surprise :
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All sony-e-62-10 are still available free of charge, except sony-e-62-10.tk that is now a " special " domain name to be paid each year !
When clicking on the " special " item, the reason shows up :
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Suddenly, http://sony-e-62-10.tk has become a short and meaningful dictonary word...!!! |
Conclusion
When searching on the Internet " Dot Tk Scam ", I quickly found out that many people think indeed it is.
Did they steal my domain name ?
Actually not, if you read the detailed Terms and Conditions, you can understand they retain the right to do whatever they want with the free domain names.
Which is normal, since I didn't pay anything for this free service.
In the discussion forums, many people explain that it is your fault if you subscribed to a free service and didn't read/understand what they are legally entitled to do.
But, on the other hand, that does not justify that they would do it.
And, whilst advertising everywhere that the service would be free and with unlimited renewals, they don't deliver what they promised (even if they weren't obliged to do so).
They just used the naivety of some people like me that still thinks that the Internet is a place for non-profitable individuals that want to share freely their knowledge.
Then they waited till the traffic to the website represented enough money to derive it to a website not compatible with my intentions, nor with their own content policies.
And when I tried to contact them, they just went away and didn't answer.
I then had to move the website to http://sony-e-62-10.atspace.cc and go throughout the entire internet to change all the links I posted in the past year.
Nothing forced me to believe what they were advertising. I was naive. Don't be like me. Don't use Dot Tk.
It is legal. It is not a theft. It is a legal scam.
Update - Google Rank
I never understood why the link http://sony-e-62-10.tk never showed up in Google searches. Even when searching for explicit sentences listed up on the website.
Just two weeks after having moved to http://sony-e-62-10.atspace.cc, the website ranked on the second page of searches and even sometimes on the very first page of Google.
Make your own conclusions.
More references
Search on the Internet " Dot Tk Scam "
Stop Using Free dot Tk Domain - Scam
Why You Don’t Use Dot TK Domain
10 Reasons why really we should not use DOT tk Domain
DOT.TK Domain is Big Scammer
.TK domain scam estimated to make over $20,000/month
My .tk Site Was Deleted by Freenom
Why not use .tk or dot.tk fraud domains (in English)
freenom.com and dot.tk frauds in url redirection
Dominios gratuitos .tk son un fraude
Dot TK/Freenom is a HUGE SCAM
Dot.tk a scam registrar? Or is it?
Freenom suspended for cybersquatting rival registrars
Freenom Fail To Comply With ICANN Suspension
NOTICE OF SUSPENSIONOF REGISTRAR
Free Domains : .co.cc, .tk, .co.nr, .co.nz : Are they worth it? Legit or Scam?
Dot.tk is a scam?
Free Domain .TK
Is Freenom a fraudulent company?
What is the difference between free and paid .TK domain names?