# WEB-085 — Adverse reputation on the domain blocks the brand

> Third-party reputation signals on the domain — prior compromise, complaint volume, adverse media, blocklist entries — block the registration.

- **Rule ID:** WEB-085
- **Layer:** Website (`WEBSITE`)
- **Checks:** `brand.website domain reputation`
- **Severity:** BLOCKING — Breaking this rule gets the submission rejected outright.
- **When it bites:** Gates approval — get this wrong and registration is refused
- **How it is detected:** External record we cannot query — reported as a warning to verify
- **Fix type:** Wait on an external system or a required interval
- **Required by:** Bandwidth
- **Applies:** Applies to every 10DLC registration.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/website/web-085/

## Why this rule exists

Carriers buy reputation data and apply it before anyone reads the site, so a domain that was compromised two owners ago arrives already refused. The business has no visibility into which feed flagged it or why, and the rejection names none of that, which is why brands re-submit unchanged registrations several times before anyone tells them the domain is the problem.

## How to fix it

Check the domain against the public blocklists and safe-browsing services before registering, and clear whatever they report — a compromised page, an old redirect, a listing from a previous owner. Where the history belongs to a previous owner, expect to have to appeal with evidence of the transfer.

## Provider rejection codes

| Provider | Code | Resubmission allowed |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bandwidth | `TFV 1604` | yes |
| Bandwidth | `TFV 1609` | yes |

## Check this yourself

**Is this domain clean on the public blocklists and safe-browsing services today?**

1. Check it against Google Safe Browsing, VirusTotal and the major blocklists — these are the feeds the vendors draw on.
2. Clear whatever they report: a compromised page, an old redirect, a listing left by a previous owner.
3. Where the history belongs to a previous owner, have evidence of the transfer ready for an appeal.

*What wrong looks like:* A domain compromised two owners ago arrives already refused. The rejection names no feed and no reason, so unchanged registrations are submitted several times before anyone mentions the domain.

## Notes

Absorbs WEB-082, prior compromise being one of the signals the same lookup returns. We query no reputation source. The user has to run this themselves — Google Safe Browsing, VirusTotal and the major blocklists are the ones the vendors draw on — and to do it before submitting, because a blocked domain burns the registration rather than pausing it.