According to Wikipedia, phishing is defined as:


"The attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and money), often for malicious reasons, by disguising as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.[1][2] The word is a neologism created as a homophone of fishing due to the similarity of using a bait in an attempt to catch a victim. According to the 2013 Microsoft Computing Safety Index, released in February 2014, the annual worldwide impact of phishing could be as high as US$5 billion.[3][better source needed]

Phishing is typically carried out by email spoofing[4] or instant messaging,[5] and it often directs users to enter personal information at a fake website, the look and feel of which are identical to the legitimate one and the only difference is the URL of the website in concern.[6] Communications purporting to be from social web sites, auction sites, banks, online payment processors or IT administrators are often used to lure victims. Phishing emails may contain links to websites that are infected with malware.[7]

Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to deceive users, and exploits weaknesses in current web security.[8] Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.


As a reminder to KPS staff and students, be wary when you do the following:

  • Opening unsolicited attachments
  • Providing personal username or password credentials
  • Clicking on hyperlinks in emails from unknown senders
  • Entering sensitive information into popup windows
  • Click here to see an example of what a suspicious shared document/attachment looks like.

If you suspect your email has been "hacked" or "Phished" we recommend changing your password immediately.  Follow the link below for instructions:


http://help.kalamazoopublicschools.com/solution/articles/3000069999-how-to-change-your-password