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Email Security Management · Lookalike domain spoofing

Lookalike domain spoofing and CASL compliance in the Canada

Short answer

CASL requires express or implied consent before sending and identification of the sender in every message. Lookalike domain spoofing supports compliance by making sender identity verifiable and recipient choices enforceable.

What CASL requires#

CASL requires express or implied consent before sending and identification of the sender in every message.

What lookalike domain spoofing is#

Lookalike (cousin) domain spoofing uses a domain visually similar to yours (examp1e.com, example-billing.com) to send mail that passes authentication for the attacker's domain while impersonating your brand.

Why it matters#

DMARC stops exact-domain spoofing, so attackers moved to lookalikes. It is now the dominant brand-impersonation technique.

How lookalike domain spoofing supports CASL compliance#

Regulators and recipients need to identify who sent a message and trust that opt-out mechanisms work. Lookalike domain spoofing contributes by dMARC stops exact-domain spoofing, so attackers moved to lookalikes. It is now the dominant brand-impersonation technique.

Implementation steps#

  1. Register the most obvious typo and hyphen variants of your domain.
  2. Monitor new registrations that contain your brand string.
  3. Configure inbound gateway rules to flag display names matching executives from external domains.
  4. Train finance and executive assistants specifically on this pattern.

Frequently asked questions#

How many lookalike domains should I register?

The top 10 to 20 variants by likelihood is a reasonable start; monitoring covers the long tail.

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