general Q. What is phishing?
A. Phishing (pronounced “fishing”) is a type of online identity theft. It uses e-mail and fraudulent Web sites that are designed to steal your personal data or information such as credit card numbers, passwords, account data, or other information. Con artists might send millions of fraudulent e-mail messages with links to fraudulent Web sites that appear to come from Web sites you trust, like your bank or credit card company, and request that you provide personal information. Criminals can use this information for many different types of fraud, such as to steal money from your account, to open new accounts in your name, or to obtain official documents using your identity. For more information about phishing scams, see Recognize phishing scams and fraudulent e-mails.
