Phishing
In computing, phishing is luring sensitive information, such as passwords and financial data, from a victim by masquerading as someone trustworthy with a real need for such information.
The term was coined in the mid nineties by crackers attempting to steal AOL accounts.
The initial communication with the victim is usually in the form of an e-mail message. Typically this will provide a link to a fake webpage (which may link to other fake pages) which looks like one of a trustworthy company, in order to fraudulently take personal information - for example a website appearing exactly like one of PayPal's in order to obtain credit card details.
Checking the URL in the address bar of the browser may not be sufficient, as, in some browsers, that can be faked too. The file properties feature of the browser may disclose the real URL of the fake webpage.
Referenced By
Deceive | Deception | Forger | Forgery | Fraud
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