# PhishDestroy threat dossier — exodus.pay-start.com ================================================================ Fetched: 2026-07-13 08:55:57 UTC Canonical: https://phishdestroy.io/domain/exodus.pay-start.com/ ## VERDICT ---------------------------------------------------------------- TAKEN DOWN (neutralised) Composite threat score: 80/100 (PhishDestroy scoring — see methodology below) Scam classification: Crypto Scam Targeted brand: Exodus ## DETECTION EVIDENCE ---------------------------------------------------------------- VirusTotal: 0/93 security vendors flagged this domain URLQuery: -1 detections Public blocklists: listed on 1 independent blocklist ## INFRASTRUCTURE ---------------------------------------------------------------- IP address: 142.250.184.196 (US, Mountain View) ASN: ASAS15169 GOOGLE, US Hosting org: AS15169 Google LLC Registrar: Hosting Concepts B.V. d/b/a Registrar.eu Nameservers: ["ns1.domainregistrar.biz", "ns2.domainregistrar.biz", "ns3.domainregistrar.biz", "ns4.domainregistrar.biz"] Registered: 2026-02-21 Page title: Google HTTP response: 200 ## TLS CERTIFICATE ---------------------------------------------------------------- Issuer: WE2 Status: INVALID chain ## ABUSE-REPORT HISTORY (evidence of registrar non-response) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Status: CLOSED — no report required. This domain was neutralised before the abuse-report cycle could be dispatched — either the hosting provider / registrar suspended it on their own, the DNS went dead, or the operator abandoned the infrastructure. PhishDestroy keeps the evidence bundle on file for audit but no formal notice was sent. ## TIMELINE ---------------------------------------------------------------- Domain registered: 2026-02-21 (per WHOIS / CT — may reflect a renewal or transfer date, not first-ever registration) First detected: 2026-02-26 23:20:55 UTC (by PhishDestroy tracker) First reported: 2026-02-26 23:20:55 UTC (abuse notice filed) Last verified: 2026-07-13 08:20:41 UTC Neutralised: 2026-03-04 23:47:05 UTC Current status: taken down (registrar suspended or DNS dead) ## EXTERNAL CORROBORATION (third-party evidence) ---------------------------------------------------------------- URLScan.io: https://urlscan.io/result/0198d404-b927-772c-b711-2814b1427671/ Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/*/exodus.pay-start.com crt.sh CT logs: https://crt.sh/?q=%25.exodus.pay-start.com Google transparency: https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search?url=exodus.pay-start.com AlienVault OTX: https://otx.alienvault.com/indicator/domain/exodus.pay-start.com URLhaus: https://urlhaus.abuse.ch/host/exodus.pay-start.com/ ## ANALYST NARRATIVE ---------------------------------------------------------------- [Generated: 2026-07-12 19:56:40 UTC — narrative may predate facts above. Treat fields in TIMELINE / DETECTION EVIDENCE / INFRASTRUCTURE as authoritative if they differ from the prose below.] This domain, exodus.pay-start.com, is under active investigation for cryptocurrency phishing targeting users of the Exodus wallet. Registered on February 21, 2026, through Hosting Concepts B.V. d/b/a Registrar.eu, the domain currently resolves to 142.250.184.196, an IP address assigned to Google LLC (AS15169) in the United States. The domain is hosted on nameservers ns1.domainregistrar.biz, ns2.domainregistrar.biz, and ns3.domainregistrar.biz, and presents an SSL certificate issued by WE2. Analysis indicates the page title is 'Google', which may suggest an attempt to obfuscate its true purpose or mimic unrelated services. The domain has been flagged by one security blocklist and is blocked by PhishDestroy. It returns an HTTP 200 status, indicating an active and accessible web resource. While 93 vendors have scanned the domain on VirusTotal, none currently detect malicious activity; however, the absence of detections does not confirm legitimacy. The domain's infrastructure and registration details align with patterns observed in cryptocurrency scams, though the exact content and functionality of the site remain unverified. Defenders should treat this domain as high-risk pending further analysis. Monitoring for connections to this domain, particularly in environments where Exodus or cryptocurrency transactions occur, is recommended. If confirmed malicious, blocking resolution to the IP and nameservers, as well as implementing detection rules for the domain, would mitigate exposure. ## EVIDENCE HASHES ---------------------------------------------------------------- Favicon MD5: e8972ce34a4545b33c3926a20c306b71 ## SCORING METHODOLOGY ---------------------------------------------------------------- Composite score is NOT derived from VirusTotal alone. PhishDestroy aggregates: - VirusTotal positive ratio - Public blocklist consensus (MetaMask, ScamSniffer, OpenPhish, PhishTank, URLhaus, CryptoFirewall, SEAL, Polkadot, Enkrypt, Phishunt, DiscordPhishing, PhishingDB) - Cloaking detection (HTTP 666 or rendering delta between bot and real visitor) - DNS-filter consensus (Quad9, CleanBrowsing, NextDNS, AdGuard, Cloudflare, etc.) - AlienVault OTX pulses + Cloudflare Radar + Google Safe Browsing - URLScan / URLQuery verdicts - Brand-impersonation heuristics (DOM analysis of forms, logos, wording) - Known phishing-kit fingerprinting (favicon hash, JS obfuscation signatures) - Wallet-drainer family classification (Angel, MS, Rainbow, Pink, Inferno, ...) - Free-TLS vs paid-cert ratio (throwaway infrastructure signal) - Registrar/hosting abuse history (this registrar's track record) - Human researcher sign-off (operator takedown team) A domain present in our database is ALREADY flagged. A low VT count by itself does NOT mean the domain is safe — new scam domains routinely show 0/95 VT for their first 7–30 days while actively draining wallets. Always cross-reference the composite score and the individual indicators above, not just VT. ## CORRECTIONS / APPEALS ---------------------------------------------------------------- Full HTML report: https://phishdestroy.io/domain/exodus.pay-start.com/ JSON API: https://api.destroy.tools/v1/check?domain=exodus.pay-start.com Appeal a flag: https://phishdestroy.io/appeals/ (responded to within 48 hours, FP rate <0.01%) Submit a report: https://t.me/PhishDestroy_bot About PhishDestroy: independent open-source threat-intelligence platform. Tracked: 178,033 domains (49,760 alive under monitoring, 128,273 confirmed takedowns/dead). Site: https://phishdestroy.io