Phishing
Phishing is the use of email and fraudulent websites to trick people into disclosing personal financial or identity information, such as credit card or Social Security numbers, user names (e.g., NetIDs), passwords and addresses. Although most "phishes" come as email, phishing scams can also come in the form of text messages and phone calls. It's called "phishing" because the criminals are broadcasting phony emails to large numbers of addresses, and they're hoping the recipients will "take the bait." The emails will either try to entice you with promises of great deals or scare you into providing the information.
What is phishing? How to recognize a phish or scam
What do I do if I get a phishing scam?
What's the big deal if I give phishing scams my username (NetID) and password?