Impersonation and phishing sites are surging: a domain protection strategy for 2026

Domain impersonation and phishing sites are rising, and so is the damage to brands

Domain-based impersonator websites and phishing sites are multiplying fast, and the damage to brands is now real. Sites posing as major Korean platforms such as the Naver advertiser center, Naver Pay, Coupang and CJ Logistics keep being uncovered, harming consumers and eroding brand trust. Responding to phishing sites matters more than ever.

The damage is spreading: fake stores that copy fashion, beauty and retail brands’ official sites, smishing disguised as delivery tracking or return notices, and fake promotion pages that steal payment details. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands are seriously affected too. (Source: Financial News)

Recent statistics make the trend clear:

• In October, Naver was the most impersonated brand in phishing, with 18 cases (16.8%) (Source: News1)
• Of those, shopping-related impersonation phishing was highest, at 22.6% (Source: News1)
• During Black Friday season, fake shopping sites rose 250% and eBay impersonation rose 525% (Source: ZDNet)

These impersonator sites are nearly identical to the real ones in design, page layout and even text, and fool shoppers by changing just one letter of the real domain. Along the way, account details are stolen, malicious apps installed and payment details taken, and the attacks keep getting more sophisticated.

AI-built impersonator sites:
fooling shoppers faster and more convincingly as generative AI spreads

Attackers now use generative AI to automate work that was hard to do by hand, such as generating fake CAPTCHAs, cloning login pages and bypassing security filters, and mass-produce more convincing AI-built impersonator sites. These automated attacks run the cycle of [fake domain creation → phishing page deployment → data theft] in very little time, and the damage grows accordingly.

As generative AI becomes mainstream, impersonator sites are built faster, their screens and content become more convincing, and they evolve to evade identification in ways traditional domain monitoring and detection struggle to catch. As a result, domain-based impersonation and phishing have gone beyond specific industries such as finance, platforms and e-commerce to become a core risk every brand that does business online must prepare for.

The domain-based brand protection strategy global companies choose (with Com Laude)

Many global brands have already made a domain-based brand protection strategy a core part of how they operate. Com Laude, a specialist partner that supports global companies’ domain operations, provides these core services:

1) Optimizing the domain portfolio

It systematically cleans up domains scattered around the world to cut unnecessary registration costs and keep only the domains the brand needs.

2) Strengthening domain security

It provides security strategies that make the brand’s online operations more stable, such as DNS resilience, domain blocking, SSL and registry lock.

3) Consulting on new top-level domain (TLD) strategy

It assesses whether to adopt new domains such as a dotBrand TLD and supports the brand’s long-term domain strategy.

Com Laude has proven these strategies with global brands. They help K-brands going global run their digital assets reliably and manage risk in the complex world of global e-commerce.

MarqVision’s core strategy against domain impersonation in the age of generative AI

Brand impersonation has moved beyond domains to become a multichannel threat spanning social media, ads, websites and search results. As generative AI goes mainstream, impersonator pages, fake ads and impersonator accounts are made faster and look more convincing, and traditional methods alone can’t keep up.

In this environment, brands need a systematic brand protection strategy that runs from trend analysis → detection → takedown. Drawing on its experience analyzing real impersonation cases and its AI technology, MarqVision provides these core strategies:

1) Insights from impersonation trend analysis

We analyze rising patterns of brand impersonation by country, platform and domain, making clear where a brand should act first: which channels impersonation appears on first, and which keywords and types are increasing. That lets brands anticipate future risks and build an efficient domain monitoring strategy.

2) AI-based impersonation detection (Marq AI)

AI automatically analyzes the brand impersonation patterns that recur across digital channels, such as domain URLs, page structure, logos and layouts, and spelling variations. That lets it detect AI-built impersonator sites, fake ad landing pages and impersonator social accounts that were hard to spot by hand.

3) Takedown and enforcement process

Once impersonator sites, fake pages or counterfeit ads are confirmed, we quickly request removal or blocking from domain registrars, hosting providers and platforms, responding to phishing sites and stopping the damage from spreading.

In this way, MarqVision’s brand protection strategy is designed to address multichannel impersonation threats across websites, social media and ads, not just domains. It gives brands practical protection that keeps their trust and revenue intact, even as impersonation grows more sophisticated in the age of generative AI.

The core brand protection strategy to prepare for 2026

The rise of domain impersonation and AI-built impersonator sites is clearly a serious business risk that reaches brand trust, customer safety and lost revenue. As AI spreads, impersonator pages are getting faster and more convincing, so brands must have a systematic, domain-based protection strategy.

A practical, efficient brand protection strategy for 2026 includes:

• Securing key domains in advance
• Domain monitoring based on the brand name
• Adopting AI detection
• Running a global takedown and enforcement process

For more specific domain protection strategies and practical insights, join our on-demand webinar, Strategies against domain impersonation and phishing, on December 22.

Or, if you’re wondering, “Does our brand face domain impersonation or phishing threats?”, request a free demo now.