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Meta* achieved a 4-fold reduction in the number of phishing domains on the Internet through the courts

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Meta* achieved a 4-fold reduction in the number of phishing domains on the Internet through the courts

After a lawsuit, domain registrar Freenom suspended the issuance of domains, making it harder for scammers to work.

Meta* accused domain registrar Freenom of ignoring complaints about phishing sites running on Freenom domains and making money from traffic to these sites. Since filing a lawsuit, the number of phishing sites using Freenom domains has plummeted.

Freenom provides domain name registration services for five “country code top-level domains” (ccTLD), including “.cf” for the Central African Republic; “.ga” for Gabon; “.gq” for Equatorial Guinea; “.ml” for Mali; and “.tk” for Tokelau.

Freenom has always provided free domain registrations in these ccTLDs, but also reserves the right to take away free domains at any time and redirect traffic to other sites – including adult sites. And there are countless reports from Freenom users who have seen free domains fall out of their control and be redirected to other sites.

By the time Meta’s first lawsuit was filed in December 2022, Freenom was the source of more than half of all new phishing domains in ccTLDs. The Meta withdrew their lawsuit in December 2022 and filed it again in March 2023. After the trial, the registrar stopped issuing new domains.

Dave Piscitello, Member of the Board of Directors of the APWG (Anti-Phishing Task Force), declared that in the months following the filing of the Meta lawsuit, there was a significant decrease in Freenom ccTLD phishing ccTLDs. The number of phishing domains has dropped from over 60% (as of November 2022) to under 15%. Freenom did not respond to requests for comment.



Number of phishing domains Freenom downsized after lawsuit

Despite the sharp decline in Freenom phishing domains, the alternatives for phishers are plentiful, according to Interisle. What’s more, there are over 2,000 accredited domain name registrars, not to mention dozens of services that allow anyone to create a website for free without owning a domain.


* The Meta company and its products (Instagram and Facebook) are recognized as extremist, their activities are prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation.



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