phishing
/ (ˈfɪʃɪŋ) /
noun
the practice of using fraudulent e-mails and copies of legitimate websites to extract financial data from computer users for purposes of identity theft
QUIZZES
IT’S A WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ BONANZA!
This windfall of words will make you rich with knowledge. Mine your memory on the words from July 27 to August 2!
Question 1 of 7
What does "scattergood" mean?
a person who acts as though he or she knows everything and who dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others.
a person who spends possessions or money extravagantly or wastefully; spendthrift.
a well-intentioned but naive and often ineffectual social or political reformer.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUTWord Origin for phishing
C21: from fishing in the sense of catching the unwary by offering bait; computer-hacker slang often replaces f with ph
Words nearby phishing
phimotic, Phineas, Phineus, phi-phenomenon, phish, phishing, Phitsanulok, phiz, Ph.L., phlebarteriectasia, phlebectasia
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Example sentences from the Web for phishing
One challenge is that this isn't a virus or a hacker attack—it's just a phishing scam, an attempt to trick people.
Once a user had heard about this phishing expedition, though, they were unlikely to engage with it again.