Phishing Scams - Simply Speaking. Phishing. An example of a phishing email, disguised as an official email from a (fictional) bank.
The sender is attempting to trick the recipient into revealing secure information by "confirming" it at the phisher's website. Phishing is a way that criminals get sensitive information (like usernames or passwords). It is a method of social engineering. Very often, phishing is done by electronic mail. Google, Microsoft, Facebook Teaming Up to Fight Phishing.