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Dictionary definition of “phish”

phish

v. to acquire passwords or other private information (of an individual, an account, a web site, software, etc.) via a ruse. Subjects: English, Crime & Prisons, Technology

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Citations: 1996 [mk590@access.digex.net] Usenet: alt.2600 (Jan. 1) “AOL for free?”: Does anyone know of a way to get an account other than phishing? 1998 [bone_head98@hotmail.com] Usenet: news.admin.net-abuse.email (Feb. 22) “A Day in the Life of a Spammer”: Start up the backbone and phish newbies for passwords. 2004 Timothy C. Barmann Providence Journal (R.I.) (Apr. 27) “Fleet customers join preferred prey of e-scammers”: Phishing attacks are typically sent by e-mail directing the recipients to a phony Web site and asking them to enter private financial information, such as credit card, Social Security and bank account numbers. The information is then used to commit identify theft and credit card fraud.

Posted 6 May 04 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

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