“Phishing” is a cybersecurity threat and a type of social engineering tactic, aimed at collecting private information on the internet. Phishing scams are typically based on fake websites (emulating financial or eCommerce websites), with URLs that are manipulated to resemble the web address of the real website.

A phishing email may attempt to create a sense of urgency (for example “your account expired”, or “regarding your recent purchase”) or may offer a reimbursement or other positive benefit to a large number of internet users. In the body of the message, the attacker often invites users to visit a form that seems specifically hosted by the legitimate organization, which requests the user to provide their personal data, often of a financial nature. During the whole procedure, the victim believes they are interacting with the official website of a trusted entity.

Never respond to emails, open attachments, or click on suspicious links from reputable institutions or unknown senders asking for personal or financial information.