Also known as brand spoofing and carding. A popular Internet e-mail scam that involves unsolicited e-mail (i.e., spam) contact in which the scam artist attempts to gain valuable information from the 0 90 180 270 360 0 90 180 270 360 target by gaining that person's confidence through various social engineering techniques and technical subterfuge. The term phishing was coined in the 1996 timeframe by crackers (malicious computer hackers) to describe the process of fishing for suckers by using some sort of lure or bait. (Hackers commonly replace f with ph, phor reasons that are entirely unphathomable to the rest of us.) Phishing commonly involves phony e-mails from banks, credit card companies, e-tailers, insurance companies, mortgage brokers, or other financial institutions warning that your account has been subjected to fraud or perhaps that your credit card is due to expire, and that you must confirm certain information such as an account number and password, or perhaps your social security number. The mail includes a hyperlink to a phony website that quite closely matches the legitimate website. If the scam is successful, the unsuspecting target clicks on the link and divulges information necessary for the scam artist to perhaps wipe out a bank account, max out a credit card, or even steal a person's identity, incur extraordinary debts in his name, and generally ruin his credit. See also e-mail, hyperlink, Internet, pharming, pretexting, scam, social engineering, and spam.