Why is this scam called "phishing"

[Walloon]

Why is this Internet scam called “phishing”? Does it have anything to do with the band Phish?

[Q.E.D]

It’s just an alternate spelling of “fishing”–which is an apt description of the process. You cast out thousands of spam emails, hoping to catch just a few victims. The spelling of the name may have been inspired by the term “phreaking”, which is the term for a variety of telephone system hacks and cheats.

[Ross]

Everything internet-related has to be spelled funny to make my friend look silly because he always tries to pronounce it differently too.

[yabob]

As noted, it’s a natural term, and as “fishing” has been applied to a series of related tricks to get people to give up security info since the very, very early days. A common stunt on mainframes running in teletype environments was to write a program which mimiced the system login, and leave it running on a public terminal, storing away the user and password somewhere, and logging off, so that the victim would just think their first attempt at logging in didn’t work. These things were often called “fishing” programs. “phishing” is just a trendy spelling.

Eventually, we’ll probably have to teach the world at large to use certificates for all sensitive transactions, and learn how to review them so that phishing scams can’t just use bogus or irrelevent certificates, like a few are already doing.

[Q.E.D]

@yabob

A common stunt on mainframes running in teletype environments was to write a program which mimiced the system login, and leave it running on a public terminal, storing away the user and password somewhere, and logging off, so that the victim would just think their first attempt at logging in didn’t work.

Yep. I did just this in college many, many moons ago, on a DEC Vax system. It got about 5 or 6 logins, including a sysadmin. It also got me kicked out of the computer lab for two weeks.

N.B. Don’t give your password-stealing batch files obvious names like TRAP.BAT.

[Cervaise]

@Q.E.D.

The spelling of the name may have been inspired by the term “phreaking”, which is the term for a variety of telephone system hacks and cheats.

This seems like the most plausible explanation. Of course, now you have to explain where “phreaking” came from.

[Duckster]

How Not to Get Hooked by a ‘Phishing’ Scam

Internet scammers casting about for people’s financial information have a new way to lure unsuspecting victims: They go “phishing.” Phishing, also called “carding,” is a high-tech scam that uses spam to deceive consumers into disclosing their credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security numbers, passwords, and other sensitive information.

Source: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/phishingalrt.htm
This is unrelated to something else called pishing (and sometimes spelled as phishing) which is a method of expelling air through pursed lips to draw in birds.

The sound stirs a sense of curiosity among birds within earshot and they respond by approaching the source. Their reasons for doing so are not altogether clear. One plausible explanation is that they suspect a predator has been located and the ‘kksshh - kksshh’ is an alarm call coming from another bird mobbing it. Mobbing behaviour is commonplace among potential prey species. Owls, sparrowhawks and hunting mammals can often be seen surrounded by an entourage of irate small birds intent on signalling the threat and trusting to safety in numbers as a means of protecting themselves. This action is also believed to help in passing on predator recognition skills to juveniles - a kind of ‘know your enemy’ indoctrination class.

Once attracted by pishing, the first birds to arrive often announce their presence by calling. In turn this stimulates others to join in the commotion. Views may be close and very exciting but does the trickery cause distress? The answer is no - and for a simple reason. Birds are not stupid and, while they may be drawn initially to the sound’s source, they are more than capable of telling a human intruder from a predator. So they quickly melt away once they realise they have been duped.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/birds/weeklyfeature/callingallbirds/

So you went phishing and got something else as well. The early phish gets the worm.

[Chronos]

This seems like the most plausible explanation. Of course, now you have to explain where “phreaking” came from.

Mostly a portmanteau of “phone hacking”. Now we just need to establish where “hack” came from…

[Q.E.D]

@Cervaise

Of course, now you have to explain where “phreaking” came from.

Early on, telephone system hackers were called “phone freaks” for obvious reasons, which quickly morphed to “phone phreaks”, undoubetdly because of the cute repetition of the initial “ph”. From there, it was only natural to apply the term “phreaking” to describe the activities of these individuals.

[Measure_for_Measure]

@Chronos

Mostly a portmanteau of “phone hacking”. Now we just need to establish where “hack” came from…

No, first we have to define “portmanteau”:

port·man·teau n. pl. port·man·teaus or port·man·teaux (-tz, -tz)
A large leather suitcase that opens into two hinged compartments.
[French portemanteau : porte-, from porter, to carry (from Old French. See port5) + manteau, cloak (from Old French mantel, from Latin mantellum).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

A bag or case, usually of leather, for carrying wearing apparel, etc., on journeys. --Thackeray. Source: Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
n 1: a word formed by joining two others (e.g., smog' is a blend of smoke’ and `fog’)
Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

[Snooooopy]

Trey Anastasio happens to be an international criminal mastermind when he’s not busy playing guitar.

[Dancing_Fool]

@Chronos

Mostly a portmanteau of “phone hacking”. Now we just need to establish where “hack” came from…

You don’t really want to start the old fight about the difference between hacking and cracking, do you?

DancingFool