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Definition of phishing
: a scam by which an e-mail user is duped into revealing personal or confidential information which the scammer can use illicitly
From the M-W Editors
phishing was our Word of the Day on 08/17/2007. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Recent Examples of phishing from the Web
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The Russian phishing attack on the Democratic Party began—as the FBI noted—as early as 2014, well before Trump was even considered to be a candidate.
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Ben Martin is chief operating officer of VR Systems, the Florida firm targeted by a Russian phishing attack in 2016.
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Winner is accused of leaking a document showing how Russian intelligence operatives used a phishing scam to hack voting software in Florida.
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Both attacks described in the report relied on spear phishing, a tactic that uses spoof emails to trick users into clicking links or opening attachments that then install malicious software on their computers.
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According to a 2016 report by Verizon, roughly 30 percent of spear phishing emails are opened by their targets.
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Pence's AOL account was subjected to a phishing scheme last spring, before Trump chose him to join the GOP presidential ticket.
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Pence’s AOL account was subjected to a phishing scheme last spring, before Trump chose him to join the GOP presidential ticket.
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And of course, the the Gmail phishing technique matched exactly with the one used again Podesta earlier in 2016.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'phishing'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Phishing is one of the many new computer-related terms that have found their way into the general lexicon over the past decade or so. Its "ph" spelling is influenced by an earlier word for an illicit act: "phreaking." Phreaking involves fraudulently using an electronic device to avoid paying for telephone calls, and its name is suspected of being a shortening of "phone freak." A common phishing scam involves sending e-mails that appear to come from banks requesting recipients to verify their accounts by typing personal details, such as credit card information, into a Web site that has been disguised to look like the real thing. Such scams can be thought of as "fishing" for naive recipients.
Origin and Etymology of phishing
alteration (influenced by phreaking) of fishing
Law Dictionary
phishing
playLegal Definition of phishing
: a fraudulent operation by which an e-mail user is duped into revealing personal or confidential information which can be used for illicit purposes (as identity theft)
Origin and Etymology of phishing
alteration of fishing (probably influenced by phreaking illegal access to a phone system)
Learn More about phishing
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Nglish: Translation of phishing for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about phishing
Seen and Heard
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