Adversaries may send phishing messages to elicit sensitive information that can be used during targeting. Phishing for information is an attempt to trick targets into divulging information, frequently credentials or other actionable information. Phishing for information is different from [Phishing](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1566) in that the objective is gathering data from the victim rather than executing malicious code.

All forms of phishing are electronically delivered social engineering. Phishing can be targeted, known as spearphishing. In spearphishing, a specific individual, company, or industry will be targeted by the adversary. More generally, adversaries can conduct non-targeted phishing, such as in mass credential harvesting campaigns.

Adversaries may also try to obtain information directly through the exchange of emails, instant messages, or other electronic conversation means.(Citation: ThreatPost Social Media Phishing)(Citation: TrendMictro Phishing)(Citation: PCMag FakeLogin)(Citation: Sophos Attachment)(Citation: GitHub Phishery) Victims may also receive phishing messages that direct them to call a phone number where the adversary attempts to collect confidential information.(Citation: Avertium callback phishing)

Phishing for information frequently involves social engineering techniques, such as posing as a source with a reason to collect information (ex: [Establish Accounts](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1585) or [Compromise Accounts](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1586)) and/or sending multiple, seemingly urgent messages. Another way to accomplish this is by forging or spoofing(Citation: Proofpoint-spoof) the identity of the sender which can be used to fool both the human recipient as well as automated security tools.(Citation: cyberproof-double-bounce) 

Phishing for information may also involve evasive techniques, such as removing or manipulating emails or metadata/headers from compromised accounts being abused to send messages (e.g., [Email Hiding Rules](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1564/008)).(Citation: Microsoft OAuth Spam 2022)(Citation: Palo Alto Unit 42 VBA Infostealer 2014)
Phishing for Information
source_name: mitre-attack  url: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1598  external_id: T1598     source_name: ACSC Email Spoofing  description: Australian Cyber Security Centre. (2012, December). Mitigating Spoofed Emails Using Sender Policy Framework. Retrieved October 19, 2020.  url: https://www.cyber.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-03/spoof_email_sender_policy_framework.pdf     source_name: Avertium callback phishing  description: Avertium. (n.d.). EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CALLBACK PHISHING. Retrieved February 2, 2023.  url: https://www.avertium.com/resources/threat-reports/everything-you-need-to-know-about-callback-phishing     source_name: TrendMictro Phishing  description: Babon, P. (2020, September 3). Tricky 'Forms' of Phishing. Retrieved October 20, 2020.  url: https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/20/i/tricky-forms-of-phishing.html     source_name: Sophos Attachment  description: Ducklin, P. (2020, October 2). Serious Security: Phishing without links – when phishers bring along their own web pages. Retrieved October 20, 2020.  url: https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2020/10/02/serious-security-phishing-without-links-when-phishers-bring-along-their-own-web-pages/     source_name: cyberproof-double-bounce  description: Itkin, Liora. (2022, September 1). Double-bounced attacks with email spoofing . Retrieved February 24, 2023.  url: https://blog.cyberproof.com/blog/double-bounced-attacks-with-email-spoofing-2022-trends     source_name: PCMag FakeLogin  description: Kan, M. (2019, October 24). Hackers Try to Phish United Nations Staffers With Fake Login Pages. Retrieved October 20, 2020.  url: https://www.pcmag.com/news/hackers-try-to-phish-united-nations-staffers-with-fake-login-pages     source_name: Microsoft Anti Spoofing  description: Microsoft. (2020, October 13). Anti-spoofing protection in EOP. Retrieved October 19, 2020.  url: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/office-365-security/anti-spoofing-protection?view=o365-worldwide     source_name: Microsoft OAuth Spam 2022  description: Microsoft. (2023, September 22). Malicious OAuth applications abuse cloud email services to spread spam. Retrieved March 13, 2023.  url: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2022/09/22/malicious-oauth-applications-used-to-compromise-email-servers-and-spread-spam/     source_name: ThreatPost Social Media Phishing  description: O'Donnell, L. (2020, October 20). Facebook: A Top Launching Pad For Phishing Attacks. Retrieved October 20, 2020.  url: https://threatpost.com/facebook-launching-pad-phishing-attacks/160351/     source_name: Proofpoint-spoof  description: Proofpoint. (n.d.). What Is Email Spoofing?. Retrieved February 24, 2023.  url: https://www.proofpoint.com/us/threat-reference/email-spoofing     source_name: GitHub Phishery  description: Ryan Hanson. (2016, September 24). phishery. Retrieved October 23, 2020.  url: https://github.com/ryhanson/phishery     source_name: Palo Alto Unit 42 VBA Infostealer 2014  description: Vicky Ray and Rob Downs. (2014, October 29). Examining a VBA-Initiated Infostealer Campaign. Retrieved March 13, 2023.  url: https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/examining-vba-initiated-infostealer-campaign/     