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Disruption and takedown

Get lookalike domains and fake sites taken offline

One click sends the evidence to up to 12 places that can act on it, all at once. If they do not act, we chase them on a set schedule and tell you when it is offline, or if it stalls.

Already happening?

Free to report. No account needed. One of our team calls you back, usually the same working day. Out of hours, email security@defenddomain.com.

Takedown
Live attackExample

yourcompany-login.com

Fake login page impersonating yourcompany.com

  • Browser warning listsSendingReported
  • Blocklists and threat feedsSendingReported
  • Registrar, host, email providerSendingEvidence sent
  • Search enginesSendingRemoval requested
Up to 12 places. Any that do not apply are skipped.Checked every hour
  • Up to 12 places sent the evidence at once, from the registrar to browser warning lists
  • 2–96 h for most takedowns, depending on the registrar and host involved
  • Hourly checks that the site is still online, until it is gone
  • Unlimited takedowns on Pro and Enterprise

Where the evidence goes: up to 12 places at once

Which places apply depends on the attack. Every one of them gets the same evidence pack.

The companies that can switch it off

The registrar (the company that sold the domain), the host (the company whose servers run the site) and the email provider it sends through. An abuse-report network also passes the report to the abuse desk of the network the attacker uses.

Blocklists and threat feeds

The spam and abuse blocklists that email filters and security tools check, and phishing and malware feeds when the attack involves them.

Browser warning lists

The services behind the red warning screens in web browsers. Only when there is a website.

Search engines

Asked to drop the fake site from their results, when there is a website.

yourcompanyinc.com

A copy of your website, fake invoices by email and a malware download

Evidence sentExample

Can switch it off

Registrar · Hosting provider · Email provider · Abuse-report networkSent

Blocklists and threat feeds

Spam blocklist · Abuse database · Phishing feed · Malware feedSent

Browser warnings and search

Browser warning lists (2) · Search engines (2)Sent

All 12 places used. If nothing happens, we chase at 48 and 96 hours.

The example uses all 12: a lookalike of your company name with a copy of your website, fake invoices sent by email and a malware download. A lookalike that only sends email has no page for a browser to warn about or a search engine to drop, so those are skipped for it.

We do not remove social media accounts, ads, app-store or marketplace listings. If one of them links to a fake site on a lookalike of your domain, or to a copy of your website, we can report that site.

  1. Stage 1 of 5

    Confirm it is a live attack

    On Pro, someone on your side checks the alert and its evidence, then types the domain to approve the takedown. On Enterprise, our analysts do this for you. Nothing is sent until then. Reports go out from DefendDomain with the evidence attached.

    Start takedown

    Example

    Your evidence goes to every place that applies. To confirm, type the domain.

    yourcompany-login.com

    Matches the domain under attack

    CancelStart takedown
  2. Stage 2 of 5

    Browser warnings and blocklists

    The blocklists get the report at the same time as everyone else, and so do the browser warning lists when there is a website. Once a site is listed, visitors see a red warning screen while removal is still in progress.

    yourcompany-login.com

    Warning: suspected fake site

    This site has been reported as deceptive. It may try to trick you into entering a password or paying money.

    Back to safetyDetails
  3. Stage 3 of 5

    Ask the companies that run it to switch it off

    The registrar, the host and the email provider all get the same evidence pack: screenshots, who registered the domain, where it is hosted and who handles its email, each with the time it was captured. When there is a website, search engines are asked to drop it from their results.

    yourcompany-login.com
    Time-stampedExample
    • Screenshots: the fake page and your real one
    • Who registered the domain, and when
    • Where it is hosted and who handles its email
    • The certificate it is using
    • A timestamped record of everything we saw

    Sent to

    The registrar, the host and the email provider it uses

  4. Stage 4 of 5

    Chase them on a set schedule

    We check every hour whether it is still online and tell you when it goes down. If they have not acted, we chase the host and registrar again at 48 and 96 hours, then go to the registry (the organisation that runs the domain ending, such as .com) at 120 and 168 hours. If nothing has moved after 30 days, we tell you, with the options left.

    Follow-up, while it is still online

    Example
    1. Day 0Reports sent to every place that applies

    2. 48 hHost and registrar chased

    3. 96 hHost and registrar chased again

    4. 120 hRegistry contacted

    5. 168 hRegistry chased again

    6. 30 daysStalled notice to you, with the options left

    Checked every hour. When it goes offline, you are told and the chasing stops.

  5. Stage 5 of 5

    Watch for it coming back

    We keep watching after it goes offline and alert you if it comes back. When you confirm an attack, we record what the attacker used, such as the registrar, name servers and email set-up, and compare your other lookalikes with it.

    Your other lookalikes, compared with the attack

    Example
    • yourcompany-payments.comSame set-up as the attack
    • yourcompany-portal.netSame set-up as the attack
    • yourcornpany.coNo match, still watching

How long it takes

Most takedowns take between 2 and 96 hours, depending on the registrar and host involved.

After you confirm
Reports sent at once
Reports sent
At once, to every place that applies
Typical takedown
2 to 96 hours
If nobody acts
Chased at 48 and 96 hours

We report to whichever registrar, host or email provider the attacker uses, wherever it is, and chase them automatically until it is down.

What happened in real cases

  • In one case, the fake domain was on anti-phishing blocklists the same day, which cut delivery of its emails.
  • In another, a copy of a client's website on a free hosting platform was offline about 24 hours after it was confirmed.
  • In a third, the certificate for a copied website was matched within seconds of being logged, and the site was taken down before any customer was known to have used it.
Read the case studies

Unlimited takedowns on Pro and Enterprise

You do not pay per takedown. If an attacker registers twenty lookalikes in one campaign, each gets its own takedown at no extra cost. Pro and Enterprise are annual plans, priced by the number of domains you protect.

See pricing

One campaign, twenty domains

Each with its own takedown

Example
  • yourcompany-login.com
  • yourcompany-invoices.com
  • yourcompany-payments.com
  • yourcompany-portal.net

and 16 more

Who presses the button

Pro: you approve, we send the reports and chase them

Someone on your side reads each alert, confirms it is a live attack and approves the takedown with one click. The reports, follow-ups and hourly checks run without you.

  • No forms to fill in or evidence to gather
  • The status of each report, as it changes
  • Unlimited takedowns

Enterprise: our analysts run it

Our analysts check every alert and run the takedowns and escalations for you. You get quarterly reporting for your board.

  • Every alert checked by an analyst
  • Quarterly board reporting
  • Unlimited domains and brands

Not a customer and under attack now? Report a live attack. Reporting is free and needs no account. On the call we tell you what we have found and what we can do about it.

Running takedowns for your clients? See the partner programme.

See it on a real attack

Free scan. No account, no card details.

See which lookalikes of your domain already exist

The free scan checks 150+ lookalikes of your domain and shows which are registered and which can send email as you. Takedowns are part of Pro and Enterprise.

  • Typos, other endings and added words, such as yourcompany-invoices.com
  • Which ones are registered, and which are set up to send email as you
  • The report in your inbox, usually in a couple of minutes. No account, no card details, no sales call.

When the scan is done we ask for a work email to send the report to. Gmail, Outlook.com and other free addresses are not accepted.

Under attack now? Report a live attack. Otherwise, book a demo or see monitoring.