What are the differences between “Pharming” and “Phishing”?
While pharming is similar to phishing in that both practices try to entice individuals to enter personal information on a fraudulent Web site, they differ in how they direct individuals to that site: • Phishing – In a typical case, the consumer receives an e-mail appearing to originate from a financial institution, government agency or other entity that requests personal or financial information. The e-mail often indicates that the consumer should provide immediate attention to the situation described by clicking on a link. The provided link appears to be the Web site of the financial institution, government agency or other entity. However, in “phishing” scams, the link is not to an offical Web site, but rather to a phony Web site. Once inside that Web site, the consumer may be asked to provide a Social Security number, account numbers, passwords or other information used to identify the consumer, such as the maiden name of the consumer’s mother or the consumer’s place of birth. When t
