Cybersquatters register domain names only to hold the domain name hostage or to deceive users.
After reading this article you will be able to:
Copy article link
Domain squatting, also referred to as cybersquatting, is the practice of registering, using, or selling a domain name in bad faith, with the intent to profit from another party’s trademark, brand name, or reputation. In most cases, the squatter has no legitimate interest in the domain other than reselling it, redirecting traffic, or exploiting user confusion.
Domain squatting can lead to financial loss, reputational damage, customer confusion, and security risks. While laws exist to combat it, prevention is often far easier and less expensive than recovery.
Domain squatting typically involves:
A common cybersquatting scenario looks like this:
Because most domains are inexpensive and easy to register, cybersquatters can operate at scale.
Registering a domain that exactly matches a trademarked brand with the intent to sell it back to the rightful owner or misuse its traffic.
Registering common misspellings or character variations to capture accidental traffic.
Typosquatting is frequently used for:
Registering a brand name under a different TLD than the one officially used by the brand, such as example.org or example.net when the legitimate site is example.com.
These domains may be used to confuse customers, divert traffic, or create leverage for resale, especially when users assume that common or country-specific TLDs are affiliated with the brand.
Combining a legitimate brand name with additional words such as “login,” “support,” “secure,” or “shop” to create a domain that appears trustworthy and official.
For example, a malicious actor might register example-login.com or example-support.net, where the entire name is the second-level domain. These domains are designed to look legitimate to example.com users at a glance. This approach is commonly used in phishing emails or for fake support pages.
These examples demonstrate how domain squatting typically works: registering domains that intentionally mimic established brands to profit from confusion. While legal remedies exist, these cases also show why proactive domain registration and monitoring are often more effective than relying on disputes after the fact.
Meta (formerly Facebook) has successfully pursued legal action against multiple typosquatters who registered misspelled versions of its brand name to deceive users and profit from confusion. These domains were often used to redirect traffic, display ads, or impersonate Facebook services — tactics commonly associated with typosquatting.
In one notable case, a US court ruled in Facebook’s favor, awarding damages and ordering the transfer of infringing domains. The decision reinforced that registering confusingly similar domain names to exploit a well-known brand constitutes trademark infringement and cybersquatting.
One of the most well-known domain squatting cases involved Microsoft and the domain mikerowesoft.com, which was registered by a third party in the early 2000s. Although the registrant claimed the domain was a personal name, the pronunciation was intentionally similar to “Microsoft,” and the site was used in a way that traded on the company’s brand recognition.
Microsoft successfully challenged the registration, and the domain was ultimately transferred to the company.
Domain squatting is more than a branding inconvenience — it introduces serious security, financial, and operational risks that can directly affect an organization’s reputation, customers, and bottom line.
Domain squatting can lead to:
Financial extortion: Squatters often demand inflated prices to transfer domains back to their rightful owners.
Brand and reputation damage: Customers may associate scams, malware, or misleading content with the legitimate brand.
Operational disruption: Traffic diversion, email spoofing, and support impersonation can disrupt normal business operations and erode trust.
Security threats to users: Beyond brand and financial damage, domain squatting can expose users to serious security risks, often without their awareness. When attackers control lookalike or deceptive domains, they can undermine user trust and create downstream harm that is difficult to detect or contain.
In many jurisdictions, domain squatting is illegal when it involves bad faith use of a trademarked name.
Laws and policies such as the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) and ICANN’s Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) allow trademark owners to challenge bad-faith registrations.
However, these processes are time-consuming and costly, making prevention the preferred strategy.
Preventing domain squatting is far more effective — and less expensive — than trying to recover a domain after it has been taken. A proactive approach combines defensive registration, monitoring, and secure domain management practices.
Register common misspellings, variations, and relevant top-level domains (TLDs) of your primary domain before squatters can. This includes plural forms, hyphenated versions, and adjacent TLDs that users might reasonably type or expect. Set up redirects from those domains to the primary domain.
Actively monitor new domain registrations that resemble your brand name. Early detection can help you identify potential threats before they’re used for scams, phishing, or extortion.
Enable DNS security features such as domain lock, transfer protection, and multi-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized changes or domain hijacking attempts.
Manage all domains in a single platform whenever possible. Centralization reduces the risk of accidental expiration, misconfiguration, or overlooked renewals — common entry points for domain squatters.
Choose a registrar with transparent pricing and clear expiration policies. Some registrars profit from allowing domains to expire and then reselling them at inflated prices through aftermarket auctions. Working with a registrar that prioritizes long-term ownership and clear renewal practices helps reduce this risk.
Cloudflare Registrar offers at-cost domain pricing, making large-scale defensive registration affordable. Because Cloudflare sells domains at cost, registrants do not face inflated renewal fees — a common tactic squatters rely on.
Integrated security features such as DNS protection, domain lock, and DDoS mitigation help prevent hijacking or abuse once domains are registered. Managing domains, DNS, and security from a single platform also reduces operational risk and simplifies long-term protection.
Search for a domain at domains.cloudflare.com.
Also known as cybersquatting, this practice involves registering or using a domain name in bad faith. The main goal is to profit from the established reputation, brand name, or trademark of another person or company. Squatters often have no genuine interest in the domain beyond selling it for a profit, capturing traffic from the original brand, or misleading visitors.
Typosquatting involves registering domains that are common misspellings or slight variations of well-known brands. When a user makes a typing error, they are directed to the squatter's site, which might be used for ad fraud, distributing malicious software, or hosting fake login pages designed to steal sensitive credentials through phishing.
One common method is combo-squatting, where a squatter adds additional terms to a brand's name and registers that as the domain: e.g., example-login.com instead of example.com. Additionally, TLD squatting uses different extensions, such as .net or .org, to confuse a brand's customers when the brand uses .com or some other TLD.
While it certainly damages reputation, it also poses significant security and operational risks. These domains can be used for email spoofing and phishing, which trick users into sharing private data. Furthermore, it can lead to financial extortion if a squatter demands a high price to return the domain to its rightful owner.
Several policies and laws exist to help trademark owners challenge registrations made in bad faith. However, because legal action is often expensive and slow, focusing on prevention and defensive domain registration is generally a more effective strategy.