Pronounced fishing, phishing is a tactic scam artists use to collect personal information from individuals for criminal purposes.  The most common form of phishing is to send emails posing for example as a bank or credit card company, asking the user to log in to address an issue or update their profile information.  The email may look legitimate, even bearing the company's logo, however the links in the email will lead the recipient to a spoofed or fake version of the company website, whereby the scammer will collect submitted information such as account name/number, password, and social security number. For more information, check out my article How to Spot an Email Phishing Scam.