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Phishing is a social-engineering scam in which someone impersonates a trusted person or organization to get you to reveal information, visit a fake site, download malware, or take another unsafe action. The five common labels below describe different aspects of phishing: some identify the target, while others identify the delivery channel. They can overlap.
What the five phishing types mean
Phishing is not limited to email. It can arrive by text, voice call, social messaging, or a website. CISA defines it as social engineering that uses email or malicious websites to solicit personal information or induce a malware download while posing as a trustworthy entity. Its five familiar labels are useful, but they are not mutually exclusive: a personalized text message, for example, can be both targeted and text-based.
| Type | Channel or target | Typical aim |
|---|---|---|
| General email or web phishing | Broad email or malicious website | Prompt a click, download, or disclosure of information |
| Spearphishing | A particular individual; personalized details | Make a request seem credible enough to earn access or information |
| Whaling | A high-profile person | Steal sensitive, high-value information |
| Vishing | Voice communication | Draw the target into a conversation and build trust |
| Smishing | Text message | Prompt a click, download, disclosure, or conversation |
The labels and definitions follow CISA’s phishing guidance. The table separates channel from targeting; one message may fit more than one row’s description.
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1. General email or web phishing
A broad phishing message impersonates a familiar service, institution, or company and tries to make a recipient click a link, download a file, or disclose information. It may claim there is a delivery problem, account issue, or urgent security alert. The apparent sender or branding is not proof that the message is genuine.
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2. Spearphishing
Spearphishing is aimed at a specific person and tailored with details about them. A message that uses a real name, workplace, project, or colleague can feel more convincing than a generic lure, but personalization does not authenticate the sender or request.
3. Whaling
Whaling is a targeted attempt against a high-profile person, often to obtain sensitive, high-value information. For a small organization, a request that appears to come from an executive or senior employee deserves independent verification, especially if it asks for confidential data or an unusual action.
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4. Vishing
Vishing is phishing by voice communication, such as a phone call. The caller may try to keep you talking, establish trust, and steer you toward disclosing information or taking an action. A convincing voice or caller ID alone does not verify who is calling.
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5. Smishing
Smishing is phishing by text message. A text may urge you to open a link, download something, share information, or reply to continue a conversation. The FTC reported that consumers lost $470 million to scams that started with text messages in 2024; this is a text-scam figure, not a measurement of all smishing or all phishing losses. The FTC also said fake package-delivery messages were the most commonly reported text scam type. See the agency’s 2024 text-scam findings.
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How to spot a phishing message, text, or call
Look at what the sender wants you to do, not only how polished the message looks. NIST and the FTC advise caution when an unexpected email, text, call, or social message asks you to click, download, log in, transfer money, or submit sensitive information.
- Urgency or pressure: A demand to act immediately can be intended to stop you from checking the request.
- Unfamiliar or misleading sender details: Check the full email address or the identity claimed by a caller or texter; a familiar display name is not enough.
- A mismatched link: The visible link text may not lead to the destination it appears to describe.
- An unexpected attachment or download: Do not open a file just because the message claims it is important.
- A request for sensitive information or money: Treat unexpected requests for passwords, financial details, personal data, or transfers as a reason to verify independently.
These are warning signs, not a guaranteed checklist. Phishing can be well-written and use familiar branding. NIST notes that AI can help produce increasingly convincing phishing messages, so grammatical polish is not a reliable test. Its guidance recommends taking a second or third look at messages that request action. Read NIST’s phishing guidance for small businesses.
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What to do if you receive a suspicious request
- Pause and do not interact. Do not click an unexpected link, download an attachment, or reply with sensitive information.
- Verify through a separate, trusted route. If the request could be legitimate, use a website address or phone number you already know is genuine. Do not rely on contact details included in the suspicious message.
- Report it. The FTC advises reporting phishing emails to the agency and forwarding them to the Anti-Phishing Working Group. Forward suspicious texts to SPAM (7726). Follow the current directions in the FTC’s phishing advice.
If you already clicked or shared information
If you disclosed personal or financial information
Use IdentityTheft.gov for recovery steps if you gave away personal information. If you shared account credentials, use the service’s genuine website or app to change them and secure the account; do not follow a recovery link in the suspicious message.
If you opened a link or attachment
The FTC advises updating security software and scanning for malware after opening an unexpected link. Avoid entering more information on the page, and use the genuine service’s contact or support route if you need help securing an account.
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How small organizations can reduce phishing risk
No single control eliminates phishing. NIST recommends combining people-focused practices with technical safeguards:
- Train employees to recognize suspicious requests and to report them promptly.
- Use email filtering and email-authentication technologies that can reject spoofed messages.
- Keep antivirus software maintained.
- Require multi-factor authentication; when available, prefer phishing-resistant authentication.
These controls reduce risk but do not make every message safe or every attack impossible. The FTC’s small-business cybersecurity guidance also covers practical protections for organizations.
What the available figures do—and do not—show
The FTC reported in 2025 that email was the top method scammers used to contact people in 2024. Separately, it reported $470 million in consumer losses to scams that started with text messages that year. The second figure covers text-started scams broadly, not phishing alone. These figures do not establish a comparable prevalence or success rate for each of the five phishing types, so they should not be used to rank the types.
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