-- How could my domain e-mail be used by spammers?

-- How can I prevent this?

-- Is my domain now blacklisted, and what can I do to "unlist" it?

Domain hijacking usually occurs when someone forgets to renew his domain registration, which then becomes available for purchase. Someone else buys it and begins to use it for a new Web site. Though this isn't illegal, imagine waking up one day to find that your Web site is no longer yours and is filled with undesirable content. Setting up automatic renewal with the registrant for your domain can prevent this from happening.

Domain theft is more serious and involves forging a domain registrant's credentials to make changes to the DNS settings, taking control of the domain. In July 2005, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers issued a report titled "Domain Name Hijacking: Incidents, Threats, Risks, and Remedial Actions." It describes actual incidents and makes recommendations to prevent similar ones. Taking a cue from the report, I checked with my registrar and found that my personal information, such as my home address, was listed. I then changed my profile to make my personal information private. There's a small fee for this, but it's well worth it.