Don’t Let Go of Old Domain Names

There are times when it is necessary to acquire a new domain name. It is a common, but dangerous, practice to allow old domain names to expire. Abandoned domain names have been targeted by cyber criminals who use them to set up fake e-commerce sites.  With these fake e-commerce sites, criminals can steal the credit card details from unsuspecting online shoppers. Failure to pay the annual renewal fee on your domain name may result end up being costly for you and others.

Unexpected Domain Name Loss

Sometimes, domains can be lost unexpectedly.  Maybe you have relied on an automatic-renewal option for your domain but forgot to keep your credit card information up to date. This simple mistake can quickly turn into your domain name expiring and being purchased by someone else.

Reasons Why You Should Protect An Old Domain Name

Email is a key communication method for most businesses. Email addresses are tied to your domain name, like johndoe@YOURDOMAIN.com. Cyber criminals are on the lookout for recently expired domains. All they need to do is re-register the domain name, and that is it. With no extra work, your clients will email that old domain’s email address and unknowingly provide hackers with information.

By letting that old domain name expire, you could be giving cyber criminals access to mailing lists, sensitive data, and more. In theory, they could set up a website that looks just like an online store and sells products that don’t exist. They can dupe your customers into submitting payment for fake products that never ship. Not only will this annoy your customers, but it will also damage your credibility.

In addition, once a criminal has control of your domain name, they can start obtaining access to not only your email lists but also, social media accounts, such as Instagram, Facebook, or Linkedin.  How? You may ask.  When you signed up for your social media accounts, you most likely used your email associated with your domain name.  Once criminals have access to your email, they can change passwords and update email addresses on your social media. Read on to learn more specific examples of how domain hijacking can be detrimental to your municipality or business.

Why is This Happening

By taking over your domain name and setting up an online store to sell products that do not exist, criminals can simply siphon payment card data from customers.  According to a report by Flashpoint and RiskIQ,  they have “observed more than 800 sites hosting these brand impersonation/skimming stores since June 2018”.

A more recent example is DotMobi Registry (2024): The domain dotmobiregistry.net, previously hosting the WHOIS server for .mobi domains, expired after the server was relocated. Researchers from watchTowr registered the expired domain and set up an imposter WHOIS server. Certificate Authorities (CAs) continued to rely on this outdated server for domain ownership verification, potentially allowing threat actors to obtain fraudulent TLS certificates.

Another more recent example includes the Parents On Demand Network (Date Not Specified): The domain ParentsOnDemand.com, associated with a parenting podcast aggregator, expired and was acquired by a domain marketplace. The previous owners likely changed to a different domain, implemented a 301 redirect for a while, and then forgot to renew the original domain, leading to its expiration.

A Hijacked Domain’s Consequences

While these examples are benign, if a hacker or bad actor gets a hold of your expired domain it can lead to dire consequences for your customers, residents, employees, or loved ones.

Phishing Attacks

• What Happens: The attacker can use the domain to send emails that appear legitimate, exploiting the trust of users who associate the domain with its previous owner.
• Impact: Sensitive information such as passwords, credit card details, or confidential business data can be stolen.

Hijacking Email Services

• What Happens: If the domain was linked to email services, the attacker can potentially receive emails intended for the original owner.
• Impact: Sensitive communication, password reset emails, or confidential client information can be intercepted.

Data Breach and Credential Theft

• What Happens: Attackers can recreate a website similar to the original and lure users into entering credentials or personal data.
• Impact: This can result in data breaches, identity theft, or financial losses for unsuspecting users.

Malware Distribution

• What Happens: The domain can host malware or malicious software, potentially compromising users who visit the site.
• Impact: Malware infections can lead to stolen data, ransomware attacks, or control over users’ devices.

Reputation Damage

• What Happens: If the expired domain was associated with a brand or organization, the attacker can post damaging or offensive content.
• Impact: Trust in the brand is eroded, and the organization’s reputation is tarnished.

Domain Squatting and Ransom

• What Happens: Bad actors may hold the domain hostage, demanding a high price from the original owner to regain control.
• Impact: This leads to financial loss and potentially losing customer trust due to prolonged downtime.

Redirecting Traffic to Malicious or Competitor Sites

• What Happens: The attacker can redirect traffic from the expired domain to phishing sites, adult content, or competitor websites.
• Impact: This disrupts business operations and misleads users.

Exploiting SEO

• What Happens: If the domain has a high SEO value, attackers can leverage its backlinks and authority to boost their own malicious sites.
• Impact: This harms the original owner’s SEO efforts and benefits the attacker’s malicious campaigns.

Security Certificate Misuse

• What Happens: If TLS/SSL certificates are still valid for the domain, the attacker could misuse them to set up fraudulent but seemingly secure websites.
• Impact: Users are more likely to trust these fraudulent sites, leading to increased exploitation.

DNS Cache Poisoning

• What Happens: Attackers might exploit the domain to reroute users to malicious IP addresses via DNS cache poisoning.
• Impact: This affects users across the internet, causing widespread harm.

Protecting Your Domain

Because domain names are relatively inexpensive, we recommend hanging onto them. Have the old domain redirect to your new website. This will protect both you and your customers. There are two ways to redirect a domain.

1. Domain Forward – No hosting required and set up through your domain registrar – This is a forward of all traffic from the domain itself. It’s not necessarily a “redirect” as it simple forwards all traffic from one domain to another domain. This includes any domain path, such as sampledomain.com/contact will simply be forwarded to the other domain’s homepage.
2. Hosted Redirect – Hosting required and setup on your hosting account – This is a true redirect. The redirects are set through a .hataccess file and then redirected as needed. Email accounts can still live here as the hosting account still exists you are merely redirecting the traffic. You can also set up redirects to include a path. For example onedomain/contact can be redirected to anotherdomain.com/contact 

SEO Implications

Aside from protecting yourself and your clients from scams, keeping a domain name might be a strategic SEO move. If you are rebranding a business with years of history, we highly recommend to do hosted redirects to maintain SEO value.

If you need help purchasing a new domain or setting up a redirect from an old domain to a new one, feel free to contact us. A CourseVector technician will be happy to help.