Phishing is a common scam, and one that collectively cost victims over $48 million in 2018, according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center Report. Here's how it works.

A fraudster will send you an email message that appears to be from a legitimate source, such as a bank, social networking site, or online store, for example. The message attempts to deceive you into providing valuable and sensitive personal data, such as passwords, credit card numbers and bank account information.

For instance, you might be directed to a website that looks legitimate, but was set up only to capture your information.