2007-02-01 13:22:30 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Internet
In computing, phishing is a criminal activity using social engineering techniques. Phishers attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business in an electronic communication.
2007-02-01 13:30:42 · answer #1 · answered by Abbeysmum 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to wikipedia for an exact definition, i belive its a spoof of fishing with the same concept, a programmer comes up with a fake website (that looks like a repulatable sight that has a userid/password combo like myspace) or e-mail, and then puts it on a server that captures e-mail addresses and sends them out, seeing if it gets any people (bites) that actually fall for it.
2007-02-01 21:30:05 · answer #2 · answered by D 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well on myspace, spammers create fake login pages that look almost identical to the real ones and when you enter your password, they get it. so the best thing to do would be to change your password and learn how to tell fake login pages apart from the real ones. this also applies to yahoo! aol, ... and others
2007-02-01 21:33:02 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Trying to get you to give personal info over the phone or internet so they can raid your bank account or charge your credit cards. I NEVER give any info to callers for any reason, and NEVER send SSN or CC numbers in email.
2007-02-01 21:28:34 · answer #4 · answered by justbeingher 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the word has its origin in Fishing. They catch your username and passwords
2007-02-01 21:27:34 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋