What Is Phishing? Definition And Usage Of This Term
WHAT IS PHISHING – In this topic, we are going to know and learn the definition of this term and how is this term used in sentences.
Definition
The Oxford Dictionary defines the term as the following:
- the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Meanwhile, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines this term as the following:
- a scam by which an Internet user is duped (as by a deceptive email message) into revealing personal or confidential information which the scammer can use illicitly
Synonyms
Here are some of the following synonyms:
- electronic mail
- fraud
- identity theft
- masquerading
- cracking
- exploit
- phishers
- malware
- hacker
- ddos
- klez
- spam
- spammers
Etymology
The term first appeared in the 90s and is known to be a respelling of phishing, which is on the pattern of phreak, an alteration of the term freak.
Examples
Here are some examples of the usage of this term:
- A simple way to spot a phishing email is to roll your cursor over a link you get in an email which has been presented to you as purportedly from your financial institution or an online merchant.
- Phishing is when someone contacts you through a pop-up message or email message requesting that you provide confidential information to update your account.
- Additionally, with the ever-growing specter of identity theft and phishing scams, the ability to use proxy sites to visit MySpace can only help users retain a sense of security and comfort in their wish to enjoy social networking.
- Because you do not give your e-mail address when you register for feeds, you do not put yourself at risk for unwanted spam, viruses or phishing.
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