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Network Abuses Leveraging High-Profile Events: Suspicious Domain Registrations and Other Scams
Unit 42 found scammers surge deceptive domain registrations around major events like the 2024 Paris Olympics to run phishing and counterfeit merchandise scams.
Unit 42 analyzed newly registered domains (over 200,000 detected daily from zone files, WHOIS, and passive DNS) containing event-specific keywords, using the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics as a case study. Threat actors register lookalike domains to sell counterfeit merchandise, push fraudulent services, and run phishing, as previously seen with COVID-19-themed and fake ChatGPT tool scams. The article recommends monitoring domain registrations, DNS and URL traffic trends, textual patterns, and verdict change requests to catch event-themed abuse early.
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Scam Attacks Taking Advantage of the Popularity of the Generative AI Wave
Unit 42 finds about 225 generative AI-themed domains registered daily since ChatGPT's launch, with nearly 29 percent suspicious, fueling scams and PUP delivery.
Palo Alto Networks analyzed new domain registrations containing generative AI keywords such as chatgpt, prompt, and sora since ChatGPT's November 2022 launch, observing around 225 GenAI-related registrations per day. About 28.75 percent of these domains are suspicious, a rate 22 times higher than for general new domains, with registration spikes aligning with milestones like Bing ChatGPT integration, the GPT-4 release, new GPTs, and OpenAI's Sora announcement. Over 72 percent of the domains use gpt or chatgpt keywords, and gpt domains show a 76 percent suspicious rate. Case studies cover PUP delivery, spam distribution, and monetized domain parking, with 35 percent of traffic to these domains directed at suspicious ones.
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