Terence Eden reports that the Domain Name System (DNS) is being used as a vector for scams at a high rate. In 2025, there were 85 million new gTLD registrations, with around 8.5 million added to blocklists by May 2025.
The report estimates that the actual abuse rate could be closer to 20%, meaning one in five newly registered domains with a gTLD may be scams. This presents a significant challenge for DNS management and security.
ICANN has been discussing this issue for years, but the scale of abuse remains a concern. The high volume of scam domains impacts trust and security in internet infrastructure.
Source: https://simonwillison.net/2026/Sep/6/the-purpose-of-dns-is-to-spread-scams/