Phishing

Phishing, a neologosim created as a homophone of fishing, describes the attempt to obtain sensitive information by means of masquerading as a trustworthy entity during electronic communication and presentation. A standard example involves an email or an IM that purports to be a social network, bank or an auction site, enticing the user to click on (one of the) provided links. The user is then redirected to a website whose look & feel is (almost) identical to the legitimate website. They are typically asked to enter their credentials or other personal information, which is subsequently emailed to the hacker. If carried out properly, the user may not even be aware or suspicious of anything "phishy" going on.