How can I identify a phishing scam?

Overview

Phishing refers to someone who sends an e-mail to you, claiming to be someone they are not to trick you into divulging personal or confidential information.

Often those who send phishing emails pretend to be someone from a legitimate organization or have another compromised an account of someone you might know from your organization. Information sought by the scammer ranges from a password or credit card number to personally identifiable information or bank account numbers of scam recipient(s).