Lookalike domains and why they matter
Addresses that look like yours, and parts of your own domain that point somewhere you no longer control.
People trust your domain name. That trust is useful to attackers in two ways.
Addresses that look like yours
Someone registers a name one letter away from yours, or the same name with a different ending, and uses it for fake invoices or sign-in pages. Your customers don't read addresses closely, so it works.
A scan checks the most likely lookalikes of your domain and tells you which ones exist and whether they receive email. You can't stop every lookalike, but knowing about one lets you warn customers and report it.
Parts of your domain pointing somewhere else
Your domain can have many subdomains, like shop. or help., each pointing to a service you use. When you stop using the service but leave the pointer, the address still points there.
If someone else can then claim that spot on the service, they control a real address on your domain. That's called a subdomain takeover, and it's convincing because the address really is yours.
What to do
Look through your DNS records now and then and delete any that point to services you no longer use. A scan lists subdomains that point to other companies and says which ones look unclaimed or about to expire.
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Files you forgot were public
Backups, settings files and folders that end up on a live site, and how a scan finds them before someone else does.
How attackers find your site in the first place
Most attacks aren't personal. Automated tools scan the whole internet, and small sites get found the same way as big ones.