The non-profit Spamhaus Project has raised serious concerns about the rising abuse associated with the .Top top-level domain (TLD), calling out its operators in a strongly worded warning.
In its latest Domain Reputation Update, Spamhaus researchers reported a 50% increase in abuse cases within just six months, identifying 211,406 incidents of malicious activity linked to .top domains.
Spamhaus highlighted examples like e-zpass.com-txzy.top and bayareafastrak.com-fzxb.top — fraudulent domains targeting popular toll systems such as E-ZPass on the U.S. East Coast and FasTrak on the West Coast. These domains were primarily used in SMS phishing (smishing) campaigns to trick users into believing they owed unpaid tolls.
According to Spamhaus, low registration costs, lack of oversight, wide availability, and support for bulk registrations have made .Top a haven for malicious actors. The report places .Top alongside .Xin as TLDs with alarmingly high abuse rates. Both are primarily registered through Dominet (HK) Limited, formerly known as Alibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce Private Limited until August 27, 2024.
ICANN has also come under fire for its lack of timely and adequate response to abuse reports involving these domains. Spamhaus urges the regulatory body to increase scrutiny and take decisive action against ongoing abuse.
“It’s time to hold .Top and its enablers accountable,” Spamhaus concluded.
With abuse escalating, the spotlight now turns to ICANN and the broader domain industry to take responsibility and protect users from further harm.
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