Just to recap, a phishing email is a type of scam. They’re usually designed to make us click a fake link to a service like Microsoft or Paypal.

We think we’re logging in to that website, but really, we’re sending our password directly to a scammer. An example of a phishing email can be seen below.

Scammers can send millions of phishing emails at a time. Many of them aren’t very convincing.

But what happens when a scammer tailors the message to a potential victim?

A scammer might use our personal information to convince us they’re legitimate. They might also make the message look like it comes from our place of work.

These tactics are called “spear-phishing”. Just as spear-fishers target certain fish, spear-phishers target certain people.