Phishing for Fortune

Phishing is an attempt by a third party to solicit confidential information from an individual, group or organization. Phishers attempt to trick users into disclosing personal data, such as credit card numbers, online banking credentials and other sensitive information, which they may then use to commit fraudulent acts. There has been an increase in attack diversity and technical sophistication by people conducting phishing and online financial fraud, making it necessary for Internet users to be aware of new trends. This article presents a holistic view of the cyber criminal attack type phishing. It presents a brief history of phishing, explains how phishing works, as well as variations on the attack type and real-life examples. Keywords—Phishing, man-in-the-middle, cross-site scripting, URL obfuscation, cyber criminal, website, countermeasure