Similar domains: understand how to recognize threats

In the vast internet landscape, similar domains represent a growing source of concern, and the question “how to recognize the threats they carry?” is one that we, at Branddi, respond to on a daily basis, helping companies to protect their reputation and their customers.

After all, your brand's security begins with the ability to identify the dangers that surround it, especially those that disguise themselves so subtly.

Navigating this topic may seem complex, but we're here to make it simple. And for this reason, we invite you to continue reading.

In this article, we will detail the methods and nuances behind similar malicious domains, empowering you to recognize them and take the necessary steps to defend yourself.

Shall we go?

What can we understand by similar domains?

To truly understand the threat that similar domains pose, it is necessary to go beyond the simple idea of a typo. ,

In fact, a similar domain is a web address intentionally created to resemble — visually or phonetically — the legitimate domain of a well-known brand.

This resemblance can be subtle, involving the exchange of a letter, the addition of a character, the use of a different TLD (Top-Level Domain, such as .com, .net, .org), or even the insertion of words that evoke the original brand.

The magnitude of this problem is alarming. Proof of this is that recent digital security reports, such as the one released by Redbelt Security, point to the existence of approximately 5.54 million fraudulent URLs active in 2024 in Brazil alone, many of which operate under the guise of similar domains.

This staggering number demonstrates that the creation of these fake addresses is not a fluke, but a deliberate and large-scale tactic. And the intention is always to exploit the trust that users place in the original brand, leading them to deception. Understanding this dynamic is the first step in protecting yourself.

What are the potential impacts of similar domains?

At first glance, a similar domain may seem like just a minor annoyance, a typo that leads to an inactive page. However, the reality is that these domains are powerful tools in the hands of scammers, and their capacity to cause significant harm is vast.

After all, the subtlety with which they are created makes them difficult for the average user to recognize, but the impacts they generate are concrete and often devastating for brands and their customers.

Read on to understand the depth of these risks.

Increased risk of phishing and scams

Similar domains are the perfect breeding ground for phishing attacks and others. Scams online. After all, by creating a web address that mimics that of a trustworthy brand, scammers trick users into believing that they are interacting with the legitimate company.

The “Annual Cybercrime Report” report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions reports that account misappropriations (ATO), often originating from phishing and smishing attacks, represented 27% of the frauds reported globally in 2024.

Although there was a slight drop compared to the previous year, this number still demonstrates the prevalence and continued danger of this tactic.

Remember: similar domains are a key vector for successful phishing attacks, as they exploit the user's trust in the URL they believe to be genuine.

Loss of traffic

When a user misspells your brand name (typosquatting) or clicks on a malicious link that takes them to a similar domain, traffic that should go to your official site is diverted.

This deviation can have multiple negative consequences:

• Loss of direct sales: whether the similar domain hosts a fake store selling pirated or non-existent products;
• Increased advertising costs: unfair competitors may use similar domains for brand bidding campaigns, inflating their CPC costs;
• Lead diversion: potential customers may end up on competitors' pages or on phishing sites instead of engaging with your brand.

This loss of qualified traffic directly impacts the revenue and ROI of your marketing campaigns, making it more expensive and difficult to reach your customers.

Legal issues

The existence of similar domains used for illegal activities can create serious legal complications for the original brand. After all, even if the company is the victim, it can be held responsible, to a certain extent, for protecting its clients against scams that use their name and visual identity.

For example, if customer data is used through a Clone site hosted on a similar domain, the brand may face legal proceedings for negligence in protecting that data.

Additionally, the brand may have to bear legal costs to remove infringing domains and combat illegal activities.

Damage to reputation

Perhaps one of the most lasting and difficult to repair impacts is the damage to the brand's reputation.

That's because when customers are deceived or buy counterfeit products through a similar domain that impersonates your company, trust in your brand is severely shaken.

And even though the fraud isn't the company's direct fault, associating the brand name with negative experiences can lead to:

• Negative publicity on social networks and complaint sites;
• Loss of customer loyalty;
• Difficulty attracting new customers;
• Perception that the brand is not safe or trustworthy.

Remember: recovering a tarnished reputation requires significant time, effort, and investment, often outweighing the direct financial costs of fraud.

Confusion between users

The proliferation of similar domains creates an environment of intense confusion for users. This is because they can have enormous difficulty distinguishing the official site from imitations, especially if they are well designed, faithfully reproducing the design and navigation of the original (a true clone site).

Not only does this confusion facilitate scams, but it also dilutes the strength and clarity of your brand in the digital environment.

When users are faced with multiple variations of your domain, your brand identity becomes less clear, and your main digital touchpoint loses authority and credibility, driving away potential customers who fear being victims of a scam.

The main types of attacks related to similar domains

Digital offenders are ingenious and use a variety of tactics to create similar domains that mislead users and exploit the reputation of established brands. And the effectiveness of these attacks lies in their ability to appear legitimate at first glance.

The “First Quarter 2025 Phishing Report” from KnowBe4, for example, reveals a worrying trend: emails related to internal HR and IT communications, which can often be forged using similar domains to appear even more authentic, represented more than 60% of phishing emails most clicked.

This alarming statistic underlines how the personification and use of trust-inspiring names are central to the success of these scams.

Understanding the variations of similar domains is critical to proactively identifying and counteracting these threats.

Read on to learn about the most common methods!

Homographs or homoglyphs

Homographic (or homoglyphic) attacks exploit the visual similarity between characters from different alphabets or the replacement of characters within the same alphabet with other characters that are visually identical or very similar.

With the introduction of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), it became possible to register domains using non-Latin characters (such as Cyrillic, Greek, etc.).

A fraudster can register a domain by replacing a Latin character with a homograph character from another alphabet.

For example, the Latin letter “a” can be replaced with the Cyrillic letter “a”, which are visually indistinguishable in many fonts.

Impacts can be:

• Redirection to phishing sites;
• Credential theft, because the user believes they are on the correct site;
• Difficult to detect, as the visual difference is minimal or non-existent.

Typosquats

Typosquatting is the practice of registering domain names that are variations of common typos of popular brands or highly accessed websites. To do this, scammers rely on the fact that users often make minor mistakes when typing URLs directly into the browser.

Variations are registered that include:

• Omission of letters;
• Adding letters;
• Exchange of adjacent letters;
• Replacing letters with nearby letters on the keyboard;
• Use of different TLDs with the same name.

According to an older study, but still relevant because of its finding, of Sophos, 80% of all misspelled domain names can lead to malicious or typosquatting sites created specifically to profit from these errors.

The same study revealed that up to 86% of potential single-letter spelling errors for big brands like Apple led to typosquatting sites.

Here are some examples:

• gooogle.com (Google);
• facebok.com (Facebook);
• amazoon.com (Amazon);
• microsft.com (Microsoft).

Combosquats

Combosquatting involves registering domain names that combine a popular brand name with additional keywords, often terms that suggest urgency, login, security, promotion, or support.

The goal is to make the domain look like a legitimate subdomain or a brand-specific page.

The brand name is concatenated with terms such as “login”, “secure”, “account”, “support”, “offer”, “promo”, “official”. Hyphens can also be used to separate words.

Check out some examples:

• paypal-login.com;
• support-microsoftonline.com;
• netflixseguro.com account;
• facebook-security-update.net.

Soundsquats

Soundsquatting explores the phonetic similarity between a brand name and other words or word combinations. It's particularly relevant with the rise of voice assistants and voice search, where a misinterpreted voice command can lead the user to an incorrect domain.

Domains are registered that sound similar to the target brand when pronounced.

In 2023, the WIPO handled a record number of nearly 6,200 domain name dispute cases (an increase of over 7% compared to 2022), submitted by brand owners.

Here are some examples to better understand:

• If the brand is “BrandNew”, a soundsquat could be brandknew.com or brannew.com;
• For “Four You”, it could be foryou.com (if the original were fouryou.com) or 4u.com.

How to detect potential threats in similar domains?

Identifying similar malicious domains requires attention to detail. That's because while fraudsters are increasingly sophisticated, some signs may raise suspicion and help you protect yourself.

Be aware of the following points before clicking or providing any information:

• Please check the URL carefully: search for subtle typos, letters changed, added, or omitted;
• Be wary of strange characters: letters that look slightly different may be homographs of other alphabets;
• Analyze the TLD (Top-Level Domain): a .net or .org site impersonating a brand that usually uses .com may be an alert. Domains with less common or recently launched TLDs also deserve caution;
• Watch out for hyphens and extra words: domains like your-brand-login.com or youramarcasuporte.net are common combosquatting tactics;
• Note the design and content: Fake sites often have poor design, grammatical errors, or broken links;
• Confirm security (HTTPS): although it's not an absolute guarantee (fraudsters also use HTTPS), the absence of a security padlock is a big red sign;
• Search for contact and CNPJ information: Legitimate sites generally display this information clearly.

Remember, when in doubt, don't click and don't provide your data. Access the official site by typing the address directly in the browser or using your favorites.

How to protect your brand from similar domains?

Protecting your brand against the growing threat of similar domains requires a proactive and multifaceted approach.

With the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reporting a record of nearly 6,200 cases of domain name disputes, it is clear that just reacting is not enough: companies need to adopt preventive and continuous monitoring strategies.

The following are some essential measures that you can implement to strengthen your brand's defense in the digital environment.

Perform defensive domain registration

Defensive registration consists of registering variations of your main domain, including common typosquatting errors, different TLDs (.net, .org, .info, etc.), and even versions with hyphens or minor changes.

While it's not feasible to record every possible combination, focusing on the most obvious and those that pose the greatest risk can prevent fraudsters from taking ownership of those addresses.

This is an important first barrier to hinder the action of offenders who seek to exploit your brand.

Activate SSL certificates and use HTTPS

Ensuring that your official site uses HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), enabled by an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate, is critical. After all, HTTPS encrypts communication between the user's browser and the site's server, protecting sensitive data.

In addition, the padlock icon in the address bar became a sign of trust for users.

While fraudsters can also obtain SSL certificates, having your main site properly secure helps differentiate it from less sophisticated impersonations and reinforces security.

Educate your users and collaborators

Awareness is a powerful weapon. A report from Check Point Software revealed that more than 90% of attacks on companies worldwide originate from malicious emails, many of which contain links to similar domains and phishing sites.

Therefore, educate your clients and especially your collaborators on how to identify suspicious URLs, fraudulent emails, and the dangers of clicking on unknown links.

Foster a culture of healthy skepticism and verification before any online interaction involving company or personal data.

Track the use of your brand on the web

Implement an active monitoring system to track how your brand is being used online.

This includes the detection of new registrations of similar domains, mentions on social networks, advertisements that misuse your name, and the appearance of counterfeit products on marketplaces.

Specialized tools and brand protection services, such as those offered by Branddi, can automate this process, identifying threats in real time and allowing for a quick response to mitigate damages before they worsen.

Learn more about our work below!

Protect your brand against similar domains with Branddi!

Given the complexity and persistence of threats from similar domains, having a specialized partner is the smartest decision. And that's where Branddi comes in, offering a complete solution, combining the precision of artificial intelligence with human expertise for 24/7 monitoring of all digital platforms.

Our activities range from monitoring to effective removal (takedown) of violations, guaranteeing results such as an average reduction of 50% in the CPC of institutional terms and the identification and removal of 50,000 fraudulent domains. Don't let your brand be the next victim!

Shield your brand right now! Visit our website and talk to one of our online advisors to find out how we can protect your greatest asset with Shielding marketing.