14 DAY TRIAL // Dynamic Dolphin, a registrar that’s said to be utilized by cybercriminals and spammers, has had its registrar accreditation agreement terminated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
ICANN says the termination becomes effective on December 20, 2013, when domain names will be transferred to other accredited registrars.
The firm has also been ordered to remove all ICANN logos, trademarks and name from its website and other business materials.
According to Brian Krebs, Dynamic Dolphin is owned by Scottie Richter, a man that has settled spam-related lawsuits with companies such as MySpace, Microsoft and Facebook. The problem is that Richter pleaded guilty to felony grand larceny back in 2003.
This is an offense involving financial activities and ICANN’s regulations clearly stipulate that accredited registrars can’t be owned by individuals convicted for such crimes.
Krebs says he had asked ICANN to investigate Richter’s involvement with Dynamic Dolphin in 2008. However, at the time, the organization told the reporter that it was unclear if the man was listed as an officer of Dynamic Dolphin.
The termination notice published by ICANN shows that it once again started reviewing Dynamic Dolphin in February 2013.
After exchanging several communications with the registrar, ICANN initiated a review of the company’s 2011 accreditation application.
“Based on Section II. B. of the Statement of Registrar Accreditation Policy, Dynamic Dolphin did not disclose in its application for accreditation that Scott Richter was the 100% beneficial owner of Dynamic Dolphin or that Scott Richter was convicted in 2003 for a felony relating to financial activities,” the organization noted in its report.
Interestingly, Brian Krebs highlights the fact that Dynamic Dolphin was often named in the past as one of the top registrars in relation to spam and other suspicious activities.