Phishing
WiktionaryText
Etymology
Respelling of . In the UseNet News Groups (alt.net…), 2600 cracker and pirate groups used variant spellings of phish and warez to be evade scans and filters by mainstream servers policing the ARPAnet/internet.
Noun
- The act of sending email that falsely claims to be from a legitimate organization. This is usually combined with a threat or request for information: for example, that an account will close, a balance is due, or information is missing from an account. The email will ask the recipient to supply confidential information, such as bank account details, PINs or passwords; these details are then used by the owners of the website to conduct fraud.
- Can also mean to circumvent security with an alias.