phishing

(noun)

The act of sending email that falsely claims to be from a legitimate organization. This is usually combined with a threat or request for information. For example, it may claim that an account will close, a balance is due, or information is missing from an account. The email will ask the recipient to supply confidential information, such as bank account details, PINs or passwords; these details are then used by the owners of the website to conduct fraud.

Related Terms

Examples of phishing in the following topics:

  • Avoiding Potential Fraud

    • Phishing is an example of a social engineering technique used to deceive users and exploit the poor usability of current web security technologies.
    • The site typically requests the user's personal information, allowing the attacker to "phish," or steal the victim's passwords, PIN, or bank account number.
    • In addition to phishing and illegal hacking, online consumers can also fall victim to purchase frauds, car theft (via websites such AutoTrader), real estate fraud (via websites such as Craigslist), illegal wire transfers, online auctions, retail schemes and call tag scams.
    • Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents and other Internet fraud include legislation, user training, public awareness and technical security measures.

  • Forced Entry

    • Crimes that use computer networks or devices to advance other ends include cyberstalking, fraud and identity theft, information warfare, and phishing scams.