Yes, DMARC is an effective authentication protocol that protects your domain against phishing and spoofing attacks. But does it stand a chance against deceptively simple yet dangerously clever cyberattacks like the ones based on lookalike domains?

We highly doubt!

Not because DMARC isn’t comprehensive or powerful enough, but because attackers have found a way to outsmart it. These attackers quickly realised that DMARC only protects emails that come from your domain, but not the ones that look like they come from your end. That’s a major loophole that they exploit using lookalike domains.

So instead of intercepting or faking your outgoing emails, they create domains that are visually similar to yours, just different enough to avoid detection. To the untrained eye, these changes are almost impossible to spot. And because these emails don’t technically come from your domain, DMARC doesn’t block them.

Let’s dig deeper to understand how cyber attackers leverage lookalike domain attacks to dupe your users and how DMARC alone isn’t enough to protect them.

What do lookalike domains look like?

Lookalike domains are the ones that closely resemble your primary domain but have a minor variation that often goes unnoticed, unless you look very closely. These domains are created by cybercriminals with the aim of tricking your users into thinking they’re interacting with a trusted source— your brand.

The changes are usually subtle. For example, the “o” in yourdomain.com might be replaced with a zero (yourd0main.com), a hyphen might be added (your-domain.com), or a different extension might be used (yourdomain.net). These tweaks might not be very apparent, but they are significant enough to fool users into opening the email, clicking on links, or sharing sensitive information.

Because these emails don’t actually come from your domain, DMARC doesn’t block them. That’s why these attacks are so dangerous—they look real but come from somewhere else.

Here are a few more examples of lookalike domains:

amazon.com— amaz0n.com

google.com— secure-google.com

microsoft.com– rnicrosoft.com

What are the dangers of lookalike domains?

To some people, lookalike domains might seem like a harmless spelling mistake, but they’re very much intentional, often created with malicious intent.

Here’s how these domains can cause real damage:

Cybersquatting   

Some attackers buy website names that are very similar to well-known brands. They do this so they can make money from it later. For example, they might wait for the real company to notice and then ask them to pay a lot of money to get the domain back. Or they might just use it to confuse people who land there by mistake. It’s kind of like someone taking your name before you could and then using it in a way that works against you.

Typosquatting

This is a more targeted trick. Here’s the attacker buys a domain with a common spelling mistake, like instead of facebook.com, they might buy faceboook.com with an extra “o”. They then create a fake website that looks just like the real one. So if someone accidentally types the wrong address, they land on the fake site without knowing it. That’s when attackers try to steal passwords, personal info, or trick people into clicking something harmful.

Gripesites

These sites are created to share grievances and complaints about a company. Anyone can create such sites, but usually it’s some unhappy customer, an ex-employee, or even someone who just wants to hurt the brand. The problem is, they look very similar to the real website, which can make unsuspecting users think they’re official. So people visiting the site might believe everything written there, even if none of it is true. That can damage the company’s image and cause people to lose trust in the brand.

Is DMARC alone enough to fight these attacks?

We don’t think so!

DMARC, certainly, does a good job of blocking emails that pretend to come from your exact domain. But it has one big blind spot: it doesn’t stop emails that come from lookalike domains.

That’s because these emails don’t technically come from your domain—they come from newly registered domains that resemble yours. And since DMARC only checks for authorized use of your domain name, these clever fakes often slip through.

For businesses with many departments, sub-brands, or third-party partners sending email, rolling out DMARC across every domain is easier said than done. It requires keeping track of who is sending what, from where, and ensuring that every mail server is properly authorized. In large setups, that’s a lot to manage, and small gaps are all an attacker needs.

Some companies try to stay ahead by buying up domain variations, like common typos or alternate endings, but it’s impossible to catch every combination. No matter how many “defensive domains” you own, there’s always room for one more lookalike to show up.

So yes, DMARC helps. But no, it’s not enough. Especially when attackers are no longer just spoofing your domain, they’re mimicking it entirely.

What’s the way out?

The best way to protect yourself from lookalike-domain-based attacks is to be a step ahead of the attackers, and that means going beyond just DMARC.

Start by monitoring for domains that are similar to yours. There are tools that can alert you when someone registers a domain that looks like yours, so you can take action before any damage is done.

You should also keep a close eye on your brand’s digital footprint. Although registering the most obvious domain variations, like common misspellings or different extensions, won’t catch everything, it can reduce your risk.

Want to help your clients stay safe from lookalike domain attacks and protect their email ecosystem?

Hi, I’m Daksh Kaur, and I help brands explain complex cybersecurity risks in a way that’s easy to understand and hard to ignore. If you want to turn lookalike domain threats into clear, trustworthy content your audience can act on, you’re in the right place.

Let’s work together to make your content more relatable and something that drives action. Reach me at daksh@turtlewords.com