Phishing

When internet fraudsters impersonate a business in an attempt to trick you into giving out your personal information, such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details. Legitimate businesses do not ask you to send sensitive information through insecure channels.

Phishing is one way that identity thieves use the Internet to retrieve your personal information, such as passwords and account numbers.

The thieves' techniques include sending hoax emails claiming to originate from legitimate businesses and establishing phony websites designed to capture your personal information.

For example, you may receive an urgent email claiming to come from your bank and directing you to a website where you're asked to update or verify your account number or password. By responding you give identity thieves an opportunity to steal your confidential information.

Phishing is difficult to detect because the fraudulent emails and websites are often indistinguishable from legitimate ones and the perpetrators change identities regularly.

A technique used to trick computer users into revealing personal or financial information. A common online phishing scam starts with an e-mail message that appears to come from a trusted source but actually directs recipients to provide information to a fraudulent website. [Exchange 2007]

Using fake e-mail to trick individuals into revealing personal information, such as Social Security numbers, debit and credit card account numbers and passwords, for nefarious uses.

Tricking individuals into disclosing sensitive personal information through deceptive computer-based means.

A scam that involves tricking someone into giving up personal information, such as account passwords or SSN/SIN numbers, to be used to commit fraud. This fraud can range from draining a bank account, to complete identity takeover. Typically this type of scam is executed by creating a fake email, which leads the user to a fake-but-official-looking webpage.