# PhishDestroy threat dossier — thenorthstars.us ================================================================ Fetched: 2026-06-28 22:52:46 UTC Canonical: https://phishdestroy.io/domain/thenorthstars.us/ ## VERDICT ---------------------------------------------------------------- ACTIVE + CLOAKED — returns HTTP 666 to scanners, real fraudulent site to victims Composite threat score: 100/100 (PhishDestroy scoring — see methodology below) Scam classification: Credential Phishing Cloaking: DETECTED — domain returns custom HTTP 666 to scanners while serving fraudulent content to real users (type: content_divergence) (score: 2/6) ## DETECTION EVIDENCE ---------------------------------------------------------------- VirusTotal: 8/91 security vendors flagged this domain Flagging vendors: alphaMountain.ai, BitDefender, CRDF, Fortinet, G-Data, Gridinsoft, Kaspersky, SOCRadar Public blocklists: listed on 3 independent blocklists ## INFRASTRUCTURE ---------------------------------------------------------------- IP address: 188.114.97.3 (CA, Toronto) ASN: AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc. Hosting org: CloudFlare, Inc. Registrar: NICENIC INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LIMITED !!! REGISTRAR INTEGRITY ALERT — NiceNIC !!! NiceNIC International: over 90% of its registered domains are associated with illegal content; documented systematic abuse-report non-response. Primary sources: https://phishdestroy.io/nicenic-real https://phishdestroy.io/nicenic-verdict Nameservers: jill.ns.cloudflare.com, noel.ns.cloudflare.com Registered: 2026-04-30 Page title: The North Star with Shaun King | Substack ## TLS CERTIFICATE ---------------------------------------------------------------- Issuer: Let's Encrypt / E8 Expires: 2026-07-15 Status: INVALID chain Fingerprint: e83ed031109ed6e08073a4bd60d18aba41da58d8d0ceb62341223b143158dbc0 ## 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Domain registered: 2026-04-30 (per WHOIS / CT — may reflect a renewal or transfer date, not first-ever registration) First detected: 2026-04-30 21:59:25 UTC (by PhishDestroy tracker) First reported: 2026-04-30 21:59:07 UTC (abuse notice filed) Last verified: 2026-06-29 00:20:41 UTC Neutralised: 2026-06-06 17:32:52 UTC Current status: ACTIVE — cloaked behind HTTP 666 to evade scanners ## EXTERNAL CORROBORATION (third-party evidence) ---------------------------------------------------------------- URLScan.io: https://urlscan.io/result/019ddfc0-d75e-7469-8efd-de2fa40aeb0a/ Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/*/thenorthstars.us crt.sh CT logs: https://crt.sh/?q=%25.thenorthstars.us Google transparency: https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search?url=thenorthstars.us AlienVault OTX: https://otx.alienvault.com/indicator/domain/thenorthstars.us URLhaus: https://urlhaus.abuse.ch/host/thenorthstars.us/ ## ANALYST NARRATIVE ---------------------------------------------------------------- [Generated: 2026-06-26 06:29:17 UTC — narrative may predate facts above. Treat fields in TIMELINE / DETECTION EVIDENCE / INFRASTRUCTURE as authoritative if they differ from the prose below.] This domain, thenorthstars.us, is flagged as a credential harvesting phishing site targeting users of a legitimate newsletter platform. Analysis indicates the site mimics the appearance and branding of a known subscription-based publication, likely to deceive visitors into submitting login credentials or payment information under false pretenses. The threat type is classified as generic_phishing with an elevated risk level due to its sophisticated impersonation tactics and active distribution in phishing campaigns. Infrastructure analysis reveals the domain was registered through NICENIC INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LIMITED on April 30, 2026, an anomalous creation date suggesting potential domain spoofing or backdating. It resolves to the IP address 188.114.97.3, which is associated with a content delivery network known for hosting both legitimate and malicious content. The domain is detected by 8 out of 95 security vendors on VirusTotal, appears on three security blocklists, and holds a Gridinsoft trust score of 0/100. Additional technical indicators include the use of Node.js, Vue.js, Nuxt.js, Google Analytics, Datadog, and Cloudflare, alongside HTTP/3 and a Let's Encrypt SSL certificate, which collectively enhance the site's perceived legitimacy while obscuring its malicious intent. Mitigation steps for this threat include immediate domain blacklisting in enterprise security gateways and endpoint protection systems. Network administrators should block traffic to the IP address 188.114.97.3 and monitor for connections to the domain or its associated infrastructure. Users who may have interacted with the site should be instructed to reset credentials for any accounts accessed during the exposure window, particularly those linked to financial or subscription services. Security teams are advised to review logs for indicators of compromise, including the domain name, IP address, and any anomalous outbound connections to analytics or monitoring services detected on the site. [Updates since narrative was generated:] - VirusTotal detections: now 8/91 (narrative was written when count was lower) ## EVIDENCE HASHES ---------------------------------------------------------------- Favicon MD5: 56c4f98a75f74ab91c672fbafd52dada TLS cert SHA-256: e83ed031109ed6e08073a4bd60d18aba41da58d8d0ceb62341223b143158dbc0 ## 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 (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 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Full HTML report: https://phishdestroy.io/domain/thenorthstars.us/ JSON API: https://api.destroy.tools/v1/check?domain=thenorthstars.us 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: 172,125 domains (14,547 alive under monitoring, 157,073 confirmed takedowns/dead). Site: https://phishdestroy.io