English
Etymology
Respelling of fishing (in the sense of "trying to find"), in accordance with the common cracker habit of respelling f- words as ph-, esp. phreaking.
Pronunciation
IPA: /�fɪ�ɪ�/
SAMPA: /<tt>"fISIN</tt>/
Rhymes: Rhymes:English:-ɪ�ɪ�|-ɪ�ɪ�
Noun
en-noun|-
wikipedia
- computing 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, 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.
- Can also mean to circumvent security with an alias.
Synonyms
spoofing
Translations
Finnish: khalastelu, phishing
German: Phishing n (1)
Japanese: �������欺 (�������� fisshingu sagi)
mid
Related terms
phish
phisher
spearphishing
Verb
phishing
- present participle of|phish
See also
<!-- This advice is useful but does not add to the definition and so does not belong in Wiktionary, in my opinion. I am replacing it with a link to the Wikipedia page, which includes similar information -- User:Paul G|Paul G 09:36, 16 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Phishing is the term coined by hackers who imitate legitimate companies in e-mails to entice people to share passwords or credit-card numbers. Recent victims include Charlotte's Bank of America, Best Buy and eBay, where people were directed to Web pages that looked nearly identical to the companies' sites.
These attacks have been documented against many major corporations. It's better to err on the side of caution. Don't trust websites and phone numbers provided in the email or webpage, as they can easily be spoofed. These emails can be the result of criminals and viruses.
Find a previous printed statement, or contact by alternate means. To confirm the details in the email, and ask someone in person, or over the phone (use a well established contact number). Research the company to see what their policies and guidelines are regarding notices of that nature. Forward a copy (if they agree) to their customer service division with complete headers. You can also search the internet for keywords in the email to see if others have reported it.
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