A type of scam in which the miscreant attempts to trick the victim into disclosing confidential information, e.g., by typing it into a fake website. Phishing is a form of social engineering, using manipulation and deception to get the victim to do what the attacker wants, whether that be clicking a link, downloading malicious files, or giving away information. Phishing can be an umbrella term for subtypes like email phishing, spear phishing (personalized phishing targeting specific people), smishing (phishing via text or SMS), vishing (voice phishing / phishing via phone), and whaling (phishing targeting high ranking people in an organization).
