LookalikeGuardIDN and punycode domain checker
Domain names can contain letters from other alphabets. These are internationalized domain names (IDN). Under the hood each one is stored as ASCII starting with xn--, called punycode. For example, a name that looks like "apple.com" but uses a Cyrillic "а" is really xn--pple-43d.com, a completely different domain.
Some browsers show the xn-- form when scripts are mixed. Many email clients, chat apps and printed materials don't, which is where these lookalikes get used.
Free, no account needed. A scan takes 15 to 60 seconds. You get a shareable result link.
What the scan does
- Generates Unicode lookalikes using Cyrillic and Greek characters that resemble Latin letters, one letter at a time and whole-name.
- Converts each to punycode and checks DNS, so you only see registered ones.
- Shows both forms in the results: how it looks, and the real
xn--name. - Scores IDN homoglyphs +25, higher than plain typos, because they are hard to see. ASCII lookalikes (rn for m, 1 for l, 0 for o) score +20.
In the scans below, no Unicode lookalikes were registered, which is common for many brands. The examples are the ASCII lookalikes we found instead. Your own brand may differ.
Real examples from our scanner
Copied from LookalikeGuard scans of public brands run on 2026-10-18, 2026-10-19 (UTC). Data comes from public DNS, RDAP registration records, certificate logs and a fetch of the page. A score is an automated risk signal, not a finding that anyone is doing something wrong: many lookalikes are defensive registrations, unrelated businesses or parked pages. Results change over time. Names of medium and high results are partly hidden for that reason.
| Brand | Lookalike | Score | Techniques | Top reasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| basecamp.com | basecarnp.com | 44 (low) | homoglyph | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +15 Resolves to an IP address, so a website can be live +15 Has mail servers (MX), so it can send or receive email +20 Swaps visually similar characters (e.g. rn/m, 0/o, 1/l) -15 Registered 7 years ago (long-standing) -1 Your brand is a common word (base + camp); capped at low without stronger evidence (login form, your favicon/title, sensitive word, or a recent registration without a distinct site of its own) |
| allbirds.com | ai••••ds.com | 45 (medium) | homoglyph, replacement | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +15 Resolves to an IP address, so a website can be live +15 Has mail servers (MX), so it can send or receive email +20 Swaps visually similar characters (e.g. rn/m, 0/o, 1/l) -15 Looks parked, placeholder or for sale (no real content right now) |
| allbirds.com | alibirds.com | 15 (info) | homoglyph, replacement | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +15 Resolves to an IP address, so a website can be live +20 Swaps visually similar characters (e.g. rn/m, 0/o, 1/l) -15 Registered 7 years ago (long-standing) -15 Looks parked, placeholder or for sale (no real content right now) |
| gitlab.com | git1ab.com | 40 (low) | homoglyph | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +15 Resolves to an IP address, so a website can be live +20 Swaps visually similar characters (e.g. rn/m, 0/o, 1/l) -5 Registered 4 years ago |
| gitlab.com | qitlab.com | 25 (low) | homoglyph | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +20 Swaps visually similar characters (e.g. rn/m, 0/o, 1/l) -5 Registered 2 years ago |
| gitlab.com | gltlab.com | 15 (info) | homoglyph, replacement | +10 Domain is registered (has DNS) +15 Resolves to an IP address, so a website can be live +20 Swaps visually similar characters (e.g. rn/m, 0/o, 1/l) -15 Registered 11 years ago (long-standing) -15 Looks parked, placeholder or for sale (no real content right now) |
Related: homoglyph checker, bitsquatting.
What it does not do
LookalikeGuard is monitoring and early warning. It does not take down domains, send legal notices, or give legal advice. Scores are automated and can be wrong in both directions: a high score is a reason to look, not proof of abuse. Many lookalike domains are parked, owned by unrelated businesses, or registered defensively by the brand itself; you can mark those as yours or dismiss them.