text: how do i safely buy a domain name from a domain name pirate? i really need this domain name, but some pirate is sitting on it and doing absolutely nothing with it. if it is for personal use then try another top level domain extension(may be .info,.us,etc) but if you are a registered business operating before the website was registered you can sue him/her. but most probably he bought that domain just to resell it at inflated prices(that is also a business). if there is a contact email address then contact him/her/them  . remember if you need it desperately then you will have to pay the price there is no guarantee to the accuracy to information  provided