phishing

British  

/ ˈfɪʃɪŋ /

noun

1. the practice of using fraudulent e-mails and copies of legitimate websites to extract financial data from computer users for purposes of identity theft

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Etymology

Origin of phishing

C21: from fishing in the sense of catching the unwary by offering bait; computer-hacker slang often replaces f with ph

Example Sentences

The practice, known as "smishing" - SMS and phishing - aims to trick people into giving personal details by making texts look as though they come from reputable companies.

From BBC

Other concerns range from copyright violations to scammers using AI tools to produce perfectly spelled phishing emails.

From Barron's

From perfectly spelled phishing emails to fake videos of government officials, artificial intelligence is changing the game for Interpol's cat-and-mouse fight against cybercrime at its high-tech war rooms in Singapore.

From Barron's

A VPN encrypts your connection but doesn’t scan for malware or identify phishing sites.

From Salon

The emails caused concern for some users on social media, who feared it was a scam or phishing attempt designed to glean more of their details.

From BBC