Phishing attacks surged by 40% in the year ending August 2024, primarily attributed to new gTLDs like .shop, .top, and .xyz, which attract scammers with low prices and lax registration requirements. Despite revealing that new gTLDs command just 11% of the market, they account for 37% of cybercrime domains. The study highlights that spammers favor these domains due to cost-effectiveness and minimal verification procedures. ICANN is criticized for planning to introduce more gTLDs despite recurring reports of exploitation. Notably, the U.S. Postal Service topped the list of phishing targets, predominantly due to cybercriminal Chenlun’s phishing kits. Increasingly, phishers are utilizing subdomain providers like blogspot.com, posing challenges for mitigation efforts.
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/12/why-phishers-love-new-tlds-like-shop-top-and-xyz/