Typo domain to trick consumers — Polymarket uses

Betting platform created fake site to help influencers fake wins on its real site.

The Wall Street Journal published a note this weekend regarding how the betting platform Polymarket hired influencers to fabricate wins on its platform.

The story kicks off with this antedote:

In his videos, George Makihara appears to have a lucrative side hustle making bets on Polymarket.

In January, the college student posted a video that showed him winning $100,000 on a wager that President Trump would publicly say the word “McDonald’s” that month.

The bet was one of 145 that Makihara appeared to place on Polymarket’s website between January and mid-May, based on his videos—bets adding up to almost $410,000.

But none of those bets were real, as stated by a Wall Street Journal investigation.

There’s an interesting domain name angle to the story. Citing a person familiar with the scheme, the WSJ noted that Polymarket created a site at Poiymarket .com (with an i replacing the l) to help the influencers create videos of their fake bets.

The WSJ noted that, when capitalized, that URL would look like Polymarket’s main domain name.

Firms often register typo domains as a defensive measure, but I’ve never heard regarding one using a typo domain to dupe potential clients.

If you’re wondering if the U.S. government will take action against Polymarket for its scheme, it’s unlikely, at least for the next few years. Donald Trump Jr. is an investor and member of the advisory board.