noun phrase · neutral
phishing scam
/ˈfɪʃɪŋ skæm/FISH·ing SCAM
A fraudulent attempt, usually by email, to obtain sensitive information by pretending to be a trustworthy source.
Examples
“He nearly lost his savings after responding to a phishing scam that looked like his bank.”
“Always check the sender's address carefully to avoid falling for a phishing scam.”
“Companies run training sessions so staff can recognise common phishing scams.”
Band 8 sentence
“Banks warn customers not to disclose passwords in response to suspicious emails because they may be part of a phishing scam.”
Collocations
- fall for a phishing scam
- report a phishing scam
- phishing email
Word family
Common mistakes
fishing scam→phishing scam
He received a phish→He received a phishing email
Say it for a higher band
5online scam→6email scam→7+phishing scam
Synonyms
email scam
Easily confused
spear-phishing
“Spear-phishing targets specific individuals with personalised messages.”
Related words
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In Technology & Internet
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