What is Phishing and Spam?
- Ben Guest
The primary difference between phishing and spam, is that phishing attempts to get sensitive information from a user whereas spam usually aims to spread information or ideas.
Spam:
Spam is email that is sent to a large number of different addresses. Spam is typically unsolicited, irrelevant, and may be inappropriate. Spam messages are usually sent in order to sell or promote a product, idea, or organization, but any unsolicited, unwanted message can be spam.
Spam is not as harmful as a phishing email. It aims to mainly spread information.
Spam can be easily reported directly to Google.
If you believe you have received a Spam email, please refer to “How to report a Spam email” to take the corresponding action to stop these emails from reaching your inbox.
Phishing:
Phishing is the use of deception to acquire passwords, credit card numbers, or other sensitive information from a user. There are many phishing mediums including SMS messages (Smishing), voice calls (Vishing), and email which is the most common phishing medium.
Phishers typically pose as a trusted entity, such as a system administrator or service provider, in order to scam their victims. Often, these messages will ask for the user to communicate in some other means; for example, a message may request that a victim sends an SMS message to a specific number or replies using a personal email address. These messages will also imply some sense of urgency for the request, thus leading an unsuspecting victim to react quickly without first asking themselves whether or not the message is legitimate.
If you believe you have received a phishing email or want more information on how to identify a phishing email, please refer to “How can I identify Phishing?”
If you have any questions about whether or not the mail you've gotten is legitimate, please contact the DoIT Security Department at security@umbc.edu.