(
twish´ing) (
n.) Twishing is the act of sending a message to a
Twitter user in an
attempt to obtain his or her name and
password. The
message may instruct the recipient to visit a
Web site
where he or she is asked to log in. The Web site, however, is bogus and set up
only to steal the user's information.
Twishing is a combination of the words
Twitter and
phishing.
The idea is that bait is given out – the concept behind the term
phishing – to Twitter users with the hopes that
while most will ignore the bait, a small percentage will be tricked into
revealing their user names and passwords. Twishing may also be seen written in
lowercase as
twishing.
Also see "Beware
of Twishing" in the
Did You Know...? section of Webopedia.
