Reseller Abuse Workflow and Abuse Report Handling Guide
Follow the Rules
All websites must comply with Trustname's legal policies and applicable ICANN requirements. While Trustname is committed to protecting customers from false, misleading, or bad-faith abuse reports, including complaints submitted by competitors, we do not provide immunity from legitimate investigations or enforcement actions. Reports are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and appropriate action may be taken where evidence supports violations of applicable policies, contractual obligations, or law. Registrants are responsible for ensuring their domains are used in compliance with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) rules and requirements to help maintain uninterrupted domain services.
Trustname works with both direct customers and reseller partners. When an abuse complaint is received for a domain managed by a reseller, the complaint is forwarded directly to the reseller for investigation and review.
The reseller is responsible for:
- Reviewing the complaint and any supporting evidence
- Contacting the domain registrant if necessary
- Investigating the reported activity
- Determining whether action should be taken
Trustname does not automatically suspend reseller-managed domains solely because a complaint is received.
For resellers seeking detailed technical documentation, API specifications, webhook events, abuse case lifecycle information, and integration requirements, please refer to the Documentation.
If, after investigation, the reseller determines that the complaint is valid and requests suspension, Trustname may apply registrar-level restrictions in accordance with applicable policies and procedures.
In certain exceptional situations, Trustname may take direct action without reseller approval, including but not limited to:
- Registry-mandated actions
- ICANN compliance requirements
- Court orders
- Law enforcement requests
- Confirmed DNS Abuse requiring immediate registrar intervention
AI-Driven Abuse Processing
To help manage abuse reports efficiently and consistently, Trustname uses AI-driven automated systems and internal review processes to analyze incoming complaints.
Our systems can scan and categorize abuse reports, identify related domains and customer accounts, detect duplicate submissions, and ensure that reports reach the appropriate parties for investigation. For reseller-managed domains, abuse reports are automatically routed to the responsible reseller, allowing them to review the complaint and communicate directly with their customer when necessary.
We have also developed structured workflows that enable resellers to respond to abuse reports in a standardized manner. This helps facilitate efficient communication between Trustname Protection & Safety and reseller partners while maintaining clear accountability throughout the investigation process.
These tools assist our team in processing reports more efficiently; however, abuse-related decisions may still involve manual review, policy assessment, and compliance evaluation where appropriate.
Reporting Abuse for Reseller Domains
If you believe a reseller-managed domain is being used for abuse, illegal activity, phishing, malware, spam, or other violations, you may to Trustname.
Trustname will review the report and forward it to the responsible reseller for investigation.
The reseller will evaluate the complaint and determine whether corrective action is required. If the reseller confirms a violation and requests suspension, Trustname may apply appropriate domain restrictions.
Reporting Abuse for Non-Reseller Domains
If the domain is registered directly through Trustname and is not managed by a reseller, Trustname Protection & Safety will investigate the complaint directly.
Where appropriate, Trustname may contact the registrant, request remediation, issue warnings, restrict services, suspend the domain, or take other actions permitted under our and applicable policies.
Important Note
Submitting an abuse report does not automatically result in suspension of a domain. Each report is reviewed individually, and actions are determined based on the available evidence, applicable , contractual obligations, and the nature of the reported activity.