Phishing is an attempt of identity theft, in which a user impersonates another person or entity in order to obtain personal data (passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information) through emails or fake links.
The person who carries out this action is known as a phisher and pretends to be a person or organization through an apparently official communication, commonly through an email or other type of instant communication.
Where does the term phishing come from?
It refers to the word "fishing" since the victims of this practice "bite the hook." It can also be an acronym for "password harvesting fishing."
How does phishing work?
It is a technique that typically tries to take advantage of the user's panic or urgency with messages like "your account will be deleted if you don't click the link within 24 hours." Any email with this type of message is highly susceptible to being part of a phishing attack, as no legitimate company sends such communications. They may also request sensitive information such as phone numbers, passwords, or banking and credit card data, which should never be provided via email.
How to avoid phishing?
There are certain rules to avoid phishing:
Never provide confidential information via email. No entities such as banks or companies request sensitive data via email under any circumstances.
Never click on a link included in an email if you doubt its origin.
In case of doubt, contact the company or entity to confirm the authenticity of the email.
Always ignore emails identified as phishing, without responding to them.
If you suspect you have been a victim of a phishing attack,