Why are Domains Impersonated? Understanding the Threat and Protecting Your Business
In today’s digital world, domain impersonation has become one of the most prevalent tactics used by cybercriminals to exploit businesses and their customers. You may have seen this in the form of look-alike URLs, email addresses, or websites designed to mimic legitimate organizations. But why exactly do malicious actors go to the trouble of impersonating domains, and how can businesses protect themselves? In this post, we’ll explore the motivations behind domain impersonation and the steps you can take to safeguard your brand.
One of the primary reasons cybercriminals impersonate domains is to facilitate phishing attacks. By creating a domain that closely resembles a legitimate company’s website or email, they deceive individuals into providing sensitive information such as login credentials, credit card numbers, or personal data. A common way this is done is through credential harvesting phishing emails that pretend to be voicemails, from HR, or through other means.
For example, a malicious actor might create a domain like “paypa1.com” (with a number “1” instead of the letter “l”) to trick unsuspecting users into entering their login credentials, believing they are accessing PayPal. This tactic is effective because many users fail to notice subtle differences in domain names. These tricks are exactly what tools like Spoof Checker detects.
