The Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération (AFNIC) is well known to registrars as the registry that manages, among other things, the .fr cctld.
While the latter handles disputes relating to domain names under its management (Syreli, PARL Expert), it is much rarer to find AFNIC acting as the complainant in UDRP proceedings.
This was, however, the case in a dispute brought before WIPO regarding <afnic.report>, for which a was issued on November 24, 2025 (WIPO, D2025-4072, Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération (AFNIC) v. ASS Franc Nommage Internet en Coop, ASS FRANC NOMMAGE INTERNET EN COOP, November 24, 2025).
A malicious registrant was using the domain name <afnic.report> to send emails to third-party registrars from <@afnic.report>, requesting the transfer of domain names and citing false SYRELI decisions as justification. To increase the credibility of this maneuver, the owner of <afnic.report> redirected the domain name to the official AFNIC website and even listed “ASS FRANC NOMMAGE INTERNET EN COOP” as the contact holder.
It can be assumed that no registrar fell for this scam, as the implementation of SYRELI decisions follows a specific procedure. However, this case illustrates the inventiveness that cybercriminals display in their scam attempts.
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