A common phishing scam typically begins with an attacker sending a fraudulent email or message that appears to be from a legitimate source, like a bank or popular online service. The message often contains a sense of urgency, prompting the recipient to click on a malicious link or download an attachment. Once clicked, the victim may be directed to a fake website designed to steal personal information, such as passwords or credit card details. Finally, the attacker may use this stolen information for identity theft or financial fraud.
Notify the proper authorities.
The three main steps of a phishing attack are the bait (the fraudulent message), the hook (the malicious link, attachment, or request), and the capture (stealing the victim’s information). So, anything outside these—such as data encryption or hardware damage—is not one of the three steps of a phishing attack.
Phishing refers to the theft of personal information through the Internet. The most common phishing scams are those which are perpetrated through email. Typically, the email asks the user to enter personal information in exchange for money.
This is fraud and more specifically, identity theft. Many emails spam your inbox trying to pull this same scam.
Phishing
phishing
A phishing scam is when someone sends an legit looking email in the hope of tricking the user to providing personal information.
Phishing scams can hook users through trustworthy looking e-mails. Another popular scam is a message from a user on eBay.
Phishing is a portmanteau of "phreaking and fishing". "Phreaking", another kind of scam, is in turn a portmanteau of "phone" and "freaking".
phishing
phishing
The "hook" in a phishing scheme is the bait that is used by scammers to get personal information. People fall for phishing scams because they usually come in the form of harmless looking emails.