This term is made up from the words “password” and “fishing”. Attackers use phishing to obtain confidential data from unsuspecting Internet users. These might for instance involve access data for your e-banking facility or account information of online shops. Perpetrators abuse their victims’ good faith and helpfulness by purporting to be, say, an employee of a trustworthy financial institution.
There are a variety of other variations such as Vishing (voice phishing or phone phishing), Smishing (SMS / text phishing) and QR phishing in addition to classic phishing via e-mail.
