In a world where almost everyone uses the Internet, cybercrime is on the rise. One of the most common crimes is phishing. Phishing is a fraudulent activity that involves deceiving people to obtain their personal information, such as logins, passwords, credit card numbers, dates of birth, etc.
Phishers (fraudsters who engage in phishing) try to gain access to this information by creating fake websites, emails, or messages that contain links to phishing sites. These fake websites or messages are usually as close as possible to the original websites or messages of well-known companies.
Phishers may use logos and trademarks of popular brands to impersonate these companies. For example, fraudsters may send an email on behalf of your bank asking you to update your bank details. When you click on the link in the email and are taken to a fake website, the phisher can steal your personal information that you provide.
In addition, phishers can use social engineering to influence people’s psychology and gain access to their information. For example, a phisher may send an email asking you to immediately update your password on a social media network to prevent your account from being disabled due to any changes in the platform’s policies. They may also send a message asking you to send money to an account they provide or to provide your credit card number for some kind of promotion or gift.
So, who needs your personal data? First of all, this data is a valuable asset for phishers and cybercriminals, who can sell it on the black market. For example, credit cards can be sold for substantial sums of money, and some personal data, such as social security numbers, can be used to open new credit accounts in your name. Phishers can also use your personal information to steal your identity and commit other cybercrimes under your name. Now you know what phishing is and how it works.
