BUSINESSES in Hampshire are today being warned to be on the lookout for bogus invoices being distributed by an organisation named Domain Registry Services.

Trading Standards officers from the county council warn that the organisation, which is based in Cambridgeshire, issues official-looking invoices advising businesses that their domain name registration is about to expire and asking for a renewal fee of £60.

The Notice of Expiration invoice issued by Domain Registry Services implies that it is the registry for the domain name and states that the business might lose its name unless the invoice is settled. Nominet UK is the officially recognised registry for .uk internet names and manages the authoritative database of .uk domain name registrations.

The fee demanded by Domain Registry Services is several times the amount required by Nominet UK.

The county council has received 20 complaints and enquiries from Hampshire businesses in the last month. Half of these have come in the last week.

Unfortunately, some of the businesses contacted by Domain Registry Services paid the renewal fee before they realised that they were paying for a service they were not getting.

County council leader Councillor Ken Thornber said: "This is yet another example of how honest businesses are being exposed to fraudulent demands for money for unnecessary services.

"The advice from our officers is to examine all invoices carefully and to check out any which were unexpected."

Any business which fears that its domain name registration might expire should contact either their own registration agent or Nominet UK at www.nominet.org.uk.