What is Phishing?
"Phishing" (pronounced "fishing") refers to a type of attempts to acquire sensitive information. Phishing is used to steal usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money), often for malicious reasons, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. The most common of the communication types is email or text. Usually it involves the user to click a link in an email or text message and then enter information on a webpage. Usually, there is no legitimate reason for anyone to request a password/passphrase or other sensitive data via email or text. and you should never respond to any such message.
What should I do if I think I might have responded to a phishing message?
- TAKE A DEEP BREATH.
- CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS.
- CONTACT THE ORGANIZATION THAT WAS SPOOFED.
- SCAN YOUR COMPUTER FOR VIRUSES.
- WATCH OUT FOR WARNING SIGNS OF IDENTITY THEFT.
- FILE A REPORT WITH THE FTC.
- PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST FUTURE PHISHING SCHEMES.