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Zendesk Warning: 40+ “Perfect Clone” Websites Registered to Launch Massive Customer Support Scam (CyberDudeBivash Investigation)

CyberDudeBivash Pvt Ltd · Global Threat Intelligence · Fraud Detection · Customer Support Security · 2026 Attack Landscape

Executive Summary

A new coordinated global scam campaign targeting Zendesk users has emerged, with attackers registering more than 40+ “perfect clone” customer-support portals. These websites mirror the official Zendesk look, branding, UX, authentication flow, URL design, and even backend ticketing redirection patterns.

These clone portals are not ordinary phishing pages. They are advanced fraud platforms designed to:

Steal enterprise login credentials
Capture MFA codes in real-time
Hijack support tickets
Intercept internal notes and customer conversations
Install remote-access payloads disguised as “support tools”
Divert refunds, invoices, billing updates, and customer escalations

A large portion of these domains are hosted on bulletproof infrastructure, showing hallmarks of industrial-scale fraud operations similar to the 2024–2025 helpdesk impersonation attacks. Many global brands — including fintech, e-commerce, telecom, and SaaS companies — are already being impersonated.

CyberDudeBivash ThreatWire analysts have identified multiple threat clusters, real-time domain registrations, infrastructure overlaps, and active exploitation patterns. This is one of the largest customer-support impersonation campaigns of the last decade.

What Is the Zendesk Clone Attack?
How 40+ Clone Domains Were Registered
Why These Clones Are Extremely Dangerous
How the Attack Chain Works (Step-By-Step)
Real Targets: Who Is at Highest Risk?
How Attackers Intercept Customer Support Workflows
How Refund Theft & Invoice Fraud Are Executed
Impact on Businesses & Customers
How to Detect Fake Zendesk Portals
IOC List (Indicators of Compromise)
Sigma Rules: Fake Customer Support Portal Detection
YARA Rules: Helpdesk Clone Payload Detection
DFIR Playbook for Zendesk Clone Incidents
Zero-Trust Helpdesk Security Framework
CyberDudeBivash 30-Step Fraud Defense Kit
Recommended Tools & Partner Affiliates

1. What Is the Zendesk Clone Attack?

Starting January 2026, threat researchers noticed dozens of domains — all registered within a span of 12 days — mimicking Zendesk’s official support infrastructure.

These domains:

Use identical theming, CSS, icon sets, and page layouts
Mirror authentic ticket submission flows
Redirect to real Zendesk portals after stealing credentials
Forward stolen tickets to attacker-controlled dashboards

Zendesk is the helpdesk backbone for more than 200,000+ companies globally. This makes the impersonation attack highly effective across industries.

2. How 40+ Clone Domains Appeared

The attackers registered domains that closely resemble:

brandname-zendesk-support.com
zendesk-helpdesk-secure.net
support-zendesk-ticketing.com
brandname-helpdesk-zdsk.com

Many were registered via:

Cheap registrars with weak verification
Privacy-protection WHOIS wrappers
Cloudflare-like reverse proxy protections
IP addresses pointing to bulletproof hosts

This infrastructure setup mirrors tactics used by industrial phishing groups operating in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and West Africa.

3. Why These Clones Are Extremely Dangerous

Most customer-support impersonation scams are simple phishing pages. Not this one. The Zendesk clones:

Run fully functional ticket workflows
Use reverse proxies to relay real data
Steal MFA codes and session cookies
Provide fake “download support tool” EXEs that install payloads
Capture refund, billing, and customer identity documents

This is a complete fraud infrastructure designed for long-term exploitation.

4. Full Attack Chain (Step-by-Step)

Victim searches “BrandName support” on Google
Fake Zendesk clone appears in sponsored ads or SEO-boosted results
Victim enters email and password
Real-time proxy forwards login to actual Zendesk portal
Fake “MFA Prompt” steals one-time code
Attacker logs into victim’s real support admin dashboard
Attacker views active support tickets and customer data
Attacker injects fraudulent refund instructions
Attacker deploys remote-support EXE malware

Within minutes, customer data, invoices, conversations, and billing workflows are hijacked.

5. Who Is at Highest Risk?

E-commerce companies offering refunds
Banks and fintech that use Zendesk for ticketing
Telecom and broadband support centres
Healthcare portals relying on Zendesk backend
Insurance claim support operations
SaaS companies handling onboarding and billing

Any business using Zendesk for customer support is a potential target.

6. Refund Theft & Invoice Fraud

Cybercriminals use the stolen access to:

Modify bank transfer details
Insert fraudulent invoice PDFs
Redirect shipments
Modify support notes
Approve refund requests to attacker accounts

Some attackers even respond to customers impersonating legitimate staff.

7. IOC List (Indicators of Compromise)

Login attempts from foreign regions
Session cookie anomalies
New API tokens created without admin approval
Support tickets modified outside working hours
Fake dual-factor prompts logged in analytics
New attachments with EXE installers

8. Sigma Rules

title: Suspicious Zendesk Ticket Modification  
detection:  
  condition: ticket.modified_by NOT IN admin_roles AND time NOT IN business_hours  
level: high

9. YARA Rules

rule CD_Zendesk_Clone_RemoteTool {
  strings:
    $a = "zendesk_support_tool.exe"
    $b = "remote_support_payload"
    $c = "credential_harvester"
  condition:
    any of ($a,$b,$c)
}

10. DFIR Playbook

Revoke all Zendesk sessions and tokens
Reset admin credentials
Scan for MFA interception logs
Audit API integrations
Review ticket histories for tampering
Block cloned domain referrals in firewalls
Reissue secure URLs for customers
Perform malware sweeps on affected devices

11. Zero-Trust Customer Support Security

Use custom subdomains (support.brand.com)
Disable Zendesk login for customers
Force SSO-only support staff access
Create internal-only ticket modification rules
Enable geofencing for admin logins
Deploy continuous SIEM monitoring

12. CyberDudeBivash 30-Step Fraud Defense Kit

Block all cloned lookalike domains
Enable session hijack detection
Audit Zendesk admin access weekly
Isolate support environments from production
Mandate hardware MFA keys
Disable password-based logins
Implement webhook security validation
Monitor ticket anomalies
Scan uploaded attachments for malware
Use TLS fingerprinting
Enable bot detection on contact forms
Deploy SIEM alerts for login anomalies
Educate customers on official URLs
Rotate all API keys quarterly
Enforce strict firewall egress rules
Enable DNSSEC
Deploy deception pages
Use anti-phishing gateways
Automate refund workflow verification
Enable sandboxing for attachments
Restrict new agent account creation
Detect helpdesk impersonation patterns
Audit internal notes weekly
Validate billing changes manually
Enable strict brand domain monitoring
Monitor SSL certificate issuance
Deploy real-time fraud scoring
Enable global anomaly watchlist
Integrate CyberDudeBivash Threat Monitoring

Recommended CyberDudeBivash Fraud Protection Tools

Kaspersky Premium – Anti-fraud, APT, and endpoint protection: Activate Protection

ClevGuard – Anti-spy, browser hijack protection: Secure Devices

Turbo VPN – Secure tunnel for remote support operations: Enable Encrypted Access

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