phishing
- 1A trick where someone pretends to be a real company to steal your passwords or bank details.
Like a stranger in a fake uniform tricking you into opening your door.
She almost fell for a phishing email that looked like it came from her bank.
Phishing tricks people into handing over their passwords and PINs.
Note
- 2Getting past a security system by pretending to be someone you are not.
Like sneaking into a building by wearing someone else's name badge.
The hacker used phishing to slip past the company's login checks.
Phishing let the intruder reach files he was never allowed to see.
Similarimpersonation, spoofing
- 3Present participle of phish. Use this form when the action is happening right now.
Scammers are phishing for bank passwords through fake login pages.
They keep phishing customers with fake refund emails.
Note
Showing meanings only.
phishing is a form of phish
phish, verb: To trick people into sharing passwords or bank details by pretending to be someone they trust. Full entry
- Spelling
- phish → phishing: add -ing
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Origin
It comes from the word "fishing," meaning trying to find something, but spelled with "ph." Early hacker groups spelled words this way to get past filters.