Typosquatting
Typosquatting is registering or using a domain that resembles a likely typing or spelling mistake for another domain, to capture traffic or deceive people who confuse the two.
A small spelling change leads somewhere else
A missing letter, repeated letter, or transposed pair can create a different domain. Someone typing an address may land there accidentally. The same misspelling can also appear in a link or email address and go unnoticed by the reader.
Microsoft describes typosquatting destinations that show advertising, promote false products, or redirect to phishing sites. The name describes the deceptive domain choice, not a guarantee that every visit installs malware.
Not every lookalike depends on a typo
Lookalike domain is the broader category. A name can imitate a brand by adding words or changing its ending without being a likely typing mistake. A homograph attack instead relies on characters that look alike. These techniques can overlap, but the distinction explains what fooled the reader.
For a service you already use, a trusted bookmark avoids retyping the address each time. Browser typo warnings can help, but the absence of a warning does not verify a site. For a supplier email, compare the complete domain with your established contact record before acting on changed payment instructions.