Quick answer
Phishing is a social-engineering attack that tricks a person into revealing secrets or approving an unsafe action.
What is Phishing?
Phishing uses fake websites, messages, support accounts, wallet pop-ups, or urgent claims to imitate a trusted service. The goal may be to steal a seed phrase, private key, login, or transaction approval.
The useful way to approach this term is to separate its definition from the assumptions people often attach to it. In crypto, the same word can appear in a protocol rule, a user interface, a market-data label, or a marketing claim. Check which layer the explanation is describing.
Why does phishing matter?
Many crypto losses happen because a user authorizes the wrong action rather than because the underlying cryptography fails. Domain checks, bookmarks, hardware-screen review, and skepticism toward urgency reduce exposure.
Concrete example
See it in a real situation
A message says a wallet will be frozen unless the user enters a seed phrase on a claim page. The request is a phishing attempt; no legitimate recovery flow needs the phrase.
Common misconceptions
What this term does not mean
- A message is not trustworthy because it knows the user’s public address.
- A padlock in the browser does not prove that a website is the official service.
Related terms
Sources and further reading
Definitions are written for education and checked against the sources below where relevant. A source can explain a protocol or rule without endorsing every product built around it.