Phishing is the criminal and fraudulent act of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, password and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity or person in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel almost identical to the legitimate one.