Pharming is defined as the fraudulent practice of redirecting Internet users to a bogus (fake) website that mimics (copies) the appearance of a legitimate (official) one, in order to obtain personal information such as passwords, account numbers, etc.
In this post:
Required knowledge:
1. How
This requires a skilled hacker who can hack a DNS server to change DNS records to re-route requests for a legitimate website to a fake website created by the hacker on a different web server for the purpose of the attack.
2. Question time
Do not confuse pharming with phishing.
A common question asked requires you to compare pharming to phishing.
| Phishing | Pharming |
|---|---|
| Both aim to obtain your login credentials so that the criminal can log in to your REAL account and commit fraud. | |
| Both use a fake website | |
| E-mail (or SMS etc.) with link to a fake website | No email |
| Very easy to create & send electronic messages & create a fake website | Very difficult to hack DNS servers to redirect traffic to the fake site |