Tried to register a domain with google domains and got this email from nominet:<p>.................<p>Hi,<p>Your recent application to register the domain name covidchart.co.uk has been submitted to Nominet by your registrar. Nominet is the central registry for .uk domain names.<p>The application has triggered some automated checks and will not been accepted until you provide some additional information.<p>This means that the domain name will not work as an internet address until you have contacted us and we agree that it should be accepted and activated.<p>Please provide us with the following by email to abuse@nominet.uk:<p>1. A copy of some verification of your identity, such as a passport, driving licence or national identity card, together with a close up photograph of yourself holding your identification; and<p>2. Your reason for registering the specified domain name.<p>We may request further documentation, and in some cases may request that you join us in a conference telephone or video call.<p>Yours sincerely
.UK Customer Services.
Tel: +44 (0)1865 332244
E-mail: abuse@nominet.uk
Web site: https://www.nominet.uk<p>.................<p>The domain was to host a chart that is pulling covid data from John Hopkins (nothing dodgy). Just surprised that nominet asks users to send documents like passports via email, seems really insecure to me.<p>Just thought I'd let everyone know that it's not a good time to register anything relating to covid in the UK currently.
Similar with namecheap. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/25/21194417/namecheap-coronavirus-covid-19-domain-name-ban-registrar-abuse" rel="nofollow">https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/25/21194417/namecheap-corona...</a><p>14,000 domains with corona in the name were registed in the January and Feburary <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22562029" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22562029</a>