From: Achieving a consensual definition of phishing based on a systematic review of the literature
Source | Definition |
---|---|
Oxford University | The fraudulent practice of sending emails |
Press ([2014]), UK | purporting to be from reputable companies |
in order to induce individuals to reveal | |
personal information, such as passwords and | |
credit card numbers, online. | |
Collins English | The practice of using fraudulent e-mails and |
Dictionary ([2013]), UK | copies of legitimate websites to extract |
financial data from computer users for | |
purposes of identity theft. | |
Merriam-Webster ([2013]), | A scam by which an e-mail user is duped into |
USA | revealing personal or confidential information |
which the scammer can use illicitly. | |
American Heritage | To request confidential information over the |
Dictionary ([2013]), USA | Internet or by telephone under false |
pretenses in order to fraudulently obtain | |
credit card numbers, passwords, or other | |
personal data. | |
Anti-Phishing Working | Phishing is a criminal mechanism employing |
Group ([2013]) | both social engineering and technical |
subterfuge to steal consumers’ personal | |
identity data and financial account | |
credentials. Social engineering schemes use | |
spoofed e-mails purporting to be from | |
legitimate businesses and agencies, designed | |
to lead consumers to counterfeit websites | |
that trick recipients into divulging financial | |
data such as usernames and passwords. | |
Technical subterfuge schemes plant | |
crimeware onto PCs to steal credentials | |
directly, often using systems to intercept | |
consumers online account user names and | |
passwords – and to corrupt local navigational | |
infrastructures to misdirect consumers to | |
counterfeit websites (or authentic websites | |
through phisher-controlled proxies used to | |
monitor and intercept consumers’ keystrokes). |