Researchers Track 186 Fake AI Domains Redirecting Users to Malware and Search Hijackers
Island researchers identified 186 AI-branded typosquatting domains that redirect users to fake verification pages, a signed but risky Microsoft Store app called Net Guard, and Chrome extensions that alter search settings. The campaign shows how AI brand confusion is being industrialized through parked domains, traffic distribution systems and signed software.
Cybersecurity firm Island said it tracked a campaign it calls TypoPrompting that uses 186 lookalike domains impersonating 27 AI brands, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek, Perplexity, Midjourney, ElevenLabs and Cursor. The domains are designed to catch users who mistype an AI tool’s web address and then push them toward a fake verification page, a malware download or a browser extension that changes search settings.
The evidence trail shows three abuse paths. One route uses parked domains to fingerprint a visitor’s browser and public IP address, then shows a fake Cloudflare check that tells users to paste a PowerShell command, a pattern known as ClickFix. Another route sends users to a Security Check page offering Net Guard, a Microsoft Store app that is byte-for-byte identical to the signed app but contains hidden browser-control features. A third route leads to a search-hijack extension family with 16 live Chrome Web Store listings and 972,000 declared users.
Registration records show some domains, including cloude[.]ai and cluade[.]ai, date to July 13, 2023, while the fingerprint gate spans 211 entry domains that also impersonate banks, insurers and enterprise software such as Scotiabank, Charles Schwab, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Verizon, ServiceNow and Microsoft Azure. The campaign does not require a new virus for every lure: attackers reuse ordinary web traffic systems, signed apps and browser extensions to make malicious steps look routine.
Island said the Net Guard download is unmodified and carries Microsoft’s Store signature, meaning the risk is not a tampered installer but the app’s latent ability to run attacker-controlled JavaScript, change default search engines while a user is idle, edit browser profiles and install arbitrary Chrome extensions. Researchers did not identify the operators in the report. The pattern matters because AI brand confusion gives attackers a trusted-looking doorway into everyday work and personal browsing.
Users searching for AI tools can be redirected to malicious commands or browser-control software, exposing personal accounts, corporate devices and search habits. The campaign turns AI brand trust into a routine attack surface.
Sources (1)
- [1]186 Fake AI Domains Redirect Users to ClickFix Lures, Browser Malware, and Search Hijackers(https://thehackernews.com/2026/11/186-fake-ai-domains-redirect-users-to.html)