Phishing

Phishing is one of the oldest and most common forms of online fraud. An attacker sends a message that appears to come from a bank, government agency, courier, or well-known brand. The message creates urgency ('your account will be suspended') and directs you to a fake website that mimics the real one, where your credentials or payment details are harvested.

Modern phishing campaigns are increasingly convincing: they use real logos, copied HTML from legitimate sites, and HTTPS certificates that give a false sense of security. Some include your real name or partial account number — obtained from previous data breaches — to seem more authentic.

The term is a deliberate misspelling of 'fishing', reflecting the idea of casting a wide net hoping someone takes the bait. Related variants include smishing (SMS), vishing (voice calls), spear-phishing (targeted), and whaling (targeting executives).