Heather's friend recently had her identity stolen after accidentally responding to a phishing email. Worried that it might happen to her, Heather has read up on how phishing attacks work. You come over to help make sure she understands it.
-Offhand, Heather asks you why this kind of attack was named "phishing" in the first place. You reply that ____.
A) the first such attack was perpetrated against the band Phish in the 1990s, and the personal information of several thousand fans was compromised
B) the attack "fishes" for information by masquerading as an email from someone known and trustworthy
C) for the first few years, all such attacks seemed "fishy" to all but the most gullible
D) none of the above

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The term "phishing" comes from the idea of "fishing" for information by using bait (in this case, a fake email) to lure someone in and trick them into giving up sensitive information. The email typically masquerades as being sent from a familiar, trustworthy source to increase the chances of the victim falling for the scam. Option A is not true, as there is no record of such an attack against the band Phish. Option C is not entirely accurate, as phishing attacks can be sophisticated and difficult to detect even for savvy internet users.

Heather's Friend Recently Had Her Identity Stolen After Accidentally Responding