So I was migrating a client off this provider, let's call them Contabo (not their real name but close enough), and their "hardware failure" story felt weird. Anyway I had some time at 3am so I wrote a quick scraper
#!/bin/bash
# whois history checker because i don't sleep
for domain in contabo.com ovhcloud.com vultr.com; do
whois $domain | grep -E "Creation|Registrant"
doneAll three domains registered to the same shell company in wyoming. Creation dates: 2024-11, 2025-02, 2025-08. Same phone number. Idk why I do this
The best part? They "recovered" the data for $800. Same playbook every time. Lose data, offer paid recovery, rebrand when heat gets too high.