In order to help you avoid getting scammed by the unscrupulous web hosts that do exist, we have tried to put together the 'tricks' used by such companies to try to grab your money:

No contact info (email, telephone, etc.)

Some web hosts simply make it impossible to contact them by any means possible. Call your web hosting company, simply having only a email address is a sign of a fly-by-night operation.

Long term contracts only

While cheaper plans may warrant an annual only plan, some web hosts provide annual service exclusively. There is no guarantee that even though you have paid them for 12 months that you will get 12 months of web hosting service. Please try to avoid long term contracts greater than 12 months of service.

Domain name registration in the webhost's name

Some web hosts offer to register your domain for you, legally register the domain in their own name! Therefore, if you try moving your domain, you will lose the domain because it was done in their name. This is a web hosting scam that we hope is quickly going away, but watch out for it.

No Money Back Guarantee

Every respectable web host company offers a money back guarantee (30 day minimum)

Complicated uptime warranty

Some web hosts hide behind their Terms of Service with complicated uptime guarantees such as the customer must report the downtime.

We are currently evaluating our 2007 blacklist of hosts.

Sign up for our free newsletter and we will send it to you when it is published.

Have you been 'stung' by an unscrupulous web host?

Contact us with your story.