Pharming (pronounced "farming) is a scam where a thief "hijacks" whole domains to his or her own Web site. In other words, Internet traffic is directed from a legitimate Web site to another Web site that is bogus and used for fraudulent purposes. As a result of pharming, a thief can gather the personal and financial data of users who believe they're communicating through their usual service provider. This information (e.g., account and Social Security numbers) can then be used to commit identity theft.
Pharming focuses on particular Web domains that are frequented by mass numbers of account holders, such as e-commerce and banking Web sites. It is rapidly becoming the most advanced and undetectable scam technique to date and requires sophisticated anti-pharming measures to protect against this threat.
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