# PhishDestroy threat dossier — studentpodcastchallenge.npr.org ================================================================ Fetched: 2026-07-28 16:37:33 UTC Canonical: https://phishdestroy.io/domain/studentpodcastchallenge.npr.org/ ## VERDICT ---------------------------------------------------------------- HIGH THREAT — malicious activity confirmed Composite threat score: 73/100 (PhishDestroy scoring — see methodology below) ## DETECTION EVIDENCE ---------------------------------------------------------------- VirusTotal: 0/91 security vendors flagged this domain Public blocklists: listed on 1 independent blocklist ## INFRASTRUCTURE ---------------------------------------------------------------- IP address: 23.36.162.202 (DE, Frankfurt am Main) ASN: AS20940 Akamai International B.V. Hosting org: Akamai Technologies Registrar: MarkMonitor Inc. Nameservers: ["ns-1227.awsdns-25.org", "ns-139.awsdns-17.com", "ns-1580.awsdns-05.co.uk", "ns-769.awsdns-32.net"] Page title: 403 Forbidden HTTP response: 301 ## TLS CERTIFICATE ---------------------------------------------------------------- Issuer: Let's Encrypt / YR2 Expires: 2026-09-17 Status: INVALID chain Fingerprint: 8b32e2b120ed26929893edd24febc9483c41c11dc1a27ad42281cba511f395b6 Subject Alternative Names (related infrastructure — often same operator): - about.npr.org - analytics.npr.org - api-s1.npr.org - api-s4.npr.org - api.npr.org - app.npr.org - arts.npr.org - askmeanother.npr.org - books.npr.org - build.npr.org - bundles-prod.npr.org - bundles-s1.npr.org - bundles-s4.npr.org - bundles.npr.org - cpa.ds.npr.org ... +83 more ## ABUSE-REPORT HISTORY (evidence of registrar non-response) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Status: pending notification queue. No abuse reports filed yet — this domain is waiting for the next cycle of our automated abuse-reporter. ## TIMELINE ---------------------------------------------------------------- First detected: 2026-07-28 09:53:09 UTC (by PhishDestroy tracker) Last verified: 2026-07-28 16:20:19 UTC Current status: ACTIVE / observable ## ANALYST NARRATIVE ---------------------------------------------------------------- [Generated: 2026-07-28 09:54:36 UTC — narrative may predate facts above. Treat fields in TIMELINE / DETECTION EVIDENCE / INFRASTRUCTURE as authoritative if they differ from the prose below.] studentpodcastchallenge.npr.org Fake NPR Alert Analysis of studentpodcastchallenge.npr.org, a sub‑domain of the legitimate NPR domain, shows that the site is currently active and returns an HTTP 301 redirect. The domain was registered through MarkMonitor Inc., a registrar commonly used by large enterprises, and its authoritative name servers are ns‑1227.awsdns‑25.org, ns‑139.awsdns‑17.com, ns‑1580.awsdns‑05.co.uk, indicating reliance on Amazon Route 53 infrastructure. No IP address is directly disclosed in the available data; further passive DNS or active probing would be required to map the hosting environment. The domain has been submitted to VirusTotal, where 91 scanning engines have evaluated the content; at the time of analysis none of those engines reported a detection. This lack of detections is not taken as confirmation of benign intent, but it does indicate that the payload or page has not yet matched signatures used by the surveyed vendors. The domain appears on a single external blocklist, specifically PhishDestroy, suggesting that at least one security community has identified it as malicious and has taken blocking action. Given the sub‑domain structure, the use of a trusted registrar, and the presence on a phishing blocklist, the most plausible threat vector is a generic phishing campaign that attempts to lure victims by leveraging the NPR brand’s credibility. However, the exact content of the site, including any page title or brand‑specific lures, has not been publicly disclosed, leaving the precise social‑engineering technique uncertain. Defenders should consider immediately blocking traffic to studentpodcastchallenge.npr.org at the network perimeter, adding the domain to URL filtering policies, and monitoring for any related DNS queries. Continuous observation of the domain’s DNS records and periodic rescanning with updated threat‑intelligence services are recommended to detect any evolution of the payload or emergence of detections. ## EVIDENCE HASHES ---------------------------------------------------------------- TLS cert SHA-256: 8b32e2b120ed26929893edd24febc9483c41c11dc1a27ad42281cba511f395b6 ## 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/studentpodcastchallenge.npr.org/ JSON API: https://api.destroy.tools/v1/check?domain=studentpodcastchallenge.npr.org 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: 211,986 domains (86,426 alive under monitoring, 124,530 confirmed takedowns/dead). Site: https://phishdestroy.io