What is Phishing?

Phishing is a fraudulent attempt to acquire sensitive information such as personally identifiable information, banking and credit card details, usernames, passwords, by disguising as a legitimate and trustworthy enterprises. The information is then used to access accounts and can result in identity theft and financial loss.

Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to deceive users, induce panic and exploits weaknesses in current web security. This cyber crime is carried out by email spoofing, SMS, text and instant messaging. These scams attempt to trick recipients into responding or take them to a fake copy-cat website, the look and feel of which are identical to the legitimate site to collect personal information.

Avoid Phishing

Phishing Types

Prevent Phishing Scams

What to do if you are a Phishing Victim?

Always act quickly when you come face to face with a potential fraud, especially if you’ve lost money or believe your identity has been stolen. Notify the company or bank right away and also file a complaint with law enforcement. In USA, you can file a complaint with FBI for phishy emails, FTC for Identity theft and SEC for securities or investment related scam.