Phishing is a technique scammers use to get confidential information (passwords, credit cards number, etc.) by simply asking them to you
In order to carry what is called phishing, scammers will first impersonate another person or company. You should know that your bank, your ISP, merchants sites NEVER send you e-mails asking for your passwords or for your credit card number.
The most common attempt of phishing is to obtain your bank account details
You receive an e-mail that seems to have been sent by your bank, your internet service provider or by an online merchant. This e-mail tells you that you must send personal information for any reason. For example a computer failure, an annual audit, or even after a scam attempt!
Then, you are asked to click on a link. It will redirect you to a site where you will be asked to enter your credit card number or/and access codes.
This information will come directly to the scammers. Then they will just have to log on to your real account using the information you have provided.
Be vigilant and never reply to such e-mails.
If you see an unexplained movement on your bank account, immediately report to the card issuer. It could be linked to a fraudulent use of your credit card on the internet. This will prevent possible other debits.
In addition, you may report to your national reporting service, such as the ones of the USA or the UK. It will help others not to fall into the trap of phishing. Use your preferred search engine to find the local website to report phishing in the country you live.
If it happened to you to undergo a phishing attempt of this kind, you can also explain your story in the comment section below or send an e-mail
It happened to me with PG&E who was asking me for a supposedly unpaid bill (but I do control my bills so I released that it was wrong, they wanted me to pay online).
I was suspicious, I called the customer service who confirmed me that it was a pg&e phishing email.
In addition, pg&e confirm I had no past due bills !