# PhishDestroy threat dossier — tether.icu
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Fetched:   2026-04-22 08:23:55 UTC
Canonical: https://phishdestroy.io/domain/tether.icu/

## VERDICT
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TAKEN DOWN (neutralised)
Composite threat score: 100/100 (PhishDestroy scoring — see methodology below)
Scam classification: Crypto Scam

## DETECTION EVIDENCE
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VirusTotal:      14/93 security vendors flagged this domain
  Flagging vendors: ADMINUSLabs, alphaMountain.ai, BitDefender, CyRadar, ESET, Fortinet, G-Data, Kaspersky, Lionic, Seclookup, SOCRadar, Sophos, VIPRE, Webroot
AlienVault OTX:  1 pulses (threat-intel feed mentions)
Public blocklists: listed on 2 independent blocklists

## INFRASTRUCTURE
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IP address:      162.213.255.29 (US, Los Angeles)
ASN:             ASAS22612 NAMECHEAP-NET, US
Hosting org:     AS22612 Namecheap, Inc.
Registrar:       NameCheap, Inc.
Nameservers:     ["dns1.namecheaphosting.com", "dns2.namecheaphosting.com"]
Registered:      2026-02-21
Page title:      tether.icu

## TLS CERTIFICATE
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Issuer:     none
Status:     INVALID chain

## ABUSE-REPORT HISTORY (evidence of registrar non-response)
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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
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Domain registered: 2026-02-21 (per WHOIS / CT — may reflect a renewal or transfer date, not first-ever registration)
First detected:    2026-02-26 23:21:23 UTC (by PhishDestroy tracker)
Last verified:     2026-04-18 13:10:27 UTC
Current status:    taken down (registrar suspended or DNS dead)

## EXTERNAL CORROBORATION (third-party evidence)
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URLScan.io:       https://urlscan.io/result/019a1af1-f3f7-77e7-b4e4-08ee8b35f091/
Wayback Machine:  https://web.archive.org/web/*/tether.icu
crt.sh CT logs:   https://crt.sh/?q=%25.tether.icu
Google transparency: https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search?url=tether.icu
AlienVault OTX:   https://otx.alienvault.com/indicator/domain/tether.icu
URLhaus:          https://urlhaus.abuse.ch/host/tether.icu/

## ANALYST NARRATIVE
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[Generated: 2026-03-19 01:26:58 UTC — narrative may predate facts above. Treat fields in TIMELINE / DETECTION EVIDENCE / INFRASTRUCTURE as authoritative if they differ from the prose below.]

PhishDestroy identifies tether.icu as a domain associated with a significant phishing threat. The domain's primary risk stems from attempts to deceive users, likely targeting cryptocurrency holders or trading activities given the 'tether' name, which is commonly linked to crypto assets. This presents a high-risk scenario for users who may be lured into revealing sensitive personal or financial information.

The domain tether.icu was registered relatively recently on February 21, 2026, through NameCheap, Inc., a popular registrar. Its trust score from Gridinsoft is notably low, scoring 0 out of 100, highlighting the domain's poor reputation. The domain appears on multiple security blocklists and has been flagged in at least one AlienVault OTX threat intelligence pulse. VirusTotal analysis reveals that 14 out of 95 security vendors recognize the domain as malicious. It resolves to the IP address 162.213.255.29, which is relevant for ongoing monitoring and network defense.

Currently, tether.icu is offline, which reduces the immediate threat but does not eliminate the dangers posed by any past exposures or potential future reactivation. Users are strongly urged to avoid visiting this domain or entering any information if encountered. Organizations should continue updating blacklists to prevent access and educate users about phishing risks associated with suspicious crypto-related domains. Vigilance and cautious verification remain essential to avoid phishing scams exploiting domain names like tether.icu.

## SCORING METHODOLOGY
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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 (volunteer 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
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Full HTML report:  https://phishdestroy.io/domain/tether.icu/
JSON API:          https://api.destroy.tools/v1/check?domain=tether.icu
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: volunteer-driven open-source threat-intelligence platform.
Tracked: 131,000+ phishing domains. Confirmed takedowns: 91,000+. Site: https://phishdestroy.io