Overview

An abuse or phishing complaint notice is issued when unauthorized or deceptive activity—such as fake login pages, spamming, or malicious software—is detected on your domain or web hosting service.

Receiving an Internic domain abuse notice or a phishing complaint domain notice requires prompt action to prevent service interruption. Depending on whether the notice originated from our internal security team or an external third party, specific steps must be followed.

Understanding the Two Types of Abuse Notices

Steps to Take Upon Receiving a Notice

Stage 1: If the Notice Came Directly from Internic (abuse@internic.ca)

1. Open the official notification email received from our trust and safety specialists.

2. Review the flagged URLs, IP logs, or unauthorized file paths detailed in the message.

3. Clean or remove compromised files from your hosting server directory (e.g., via Plesk File Manager).

4. Reply directly to the original abuse@internic.ca email thread with whatever information or resolution proof was requested of you.

Stage 2: If You Received the Notice from a Third Party

If you receive a phishing complaint or legal inquiry regarding your domain from an outside organization:

1. Do not reply directly to suspicious third-party senders without verification.

2. Capture screenshots of the notice or preserve the full email header details.

3. Forward the email or screenshots directly to abuse@internic.ca.

4. Our abuse management team will inspect the report, confirm if action is required, and guide you through the compliance process.

When to Contact Live Support

You can perform initial security sweeps and password changes yourself, but Live Agent intervention is required to handle domain suspensions or official case closures.

Connect with our team immediately if:

• Your domain DNS or hosting account has been placed on administrative hold due to an Internic domain abuse notice.

• You are unable to locate the malicious files referenced in the complaint.

• You have cleaned your website files and need an agent to verify the fix and restore public site access.