Typosquatting
Registering a domain name deliberately similar to a legitimate one, relying on a user's typo or quick glance to land on the fake site instead.
Typosquatting is the practice of registering a domain name deliberately similar to a legitimate, well-known website — through a common misspelling, an extra or missing character, or a different top-level domain — relying on a user mistyping the address or glancing at it too quickly to notice the difference.
In crypto specifically, a typosquatted domain commonly hosts a convincing fake version of a real exchange, wallet, or DeFi protocol's website, built to capture login credentials or trick a visitor into signing a malicious transaction. See Kaavon's "How to Recognize and Avoid Crypto Phishing" guide for how this fits into the broader phishing landscape.
Examples
- A typosquatted domain might swap two adjacent letters in a well-known exchange's name, counting on a visitor not noticing at a glance.
- Bookmarking a frequently-used site's correct address, rather than retyping or searching for it each time, is a direct, practical defense against typosquatting.