What is Phishing and why is it a problem?

Phishing is a method of trying to gather personal information using deceptive e-mails and websites. Phishing is a cyber-attack that uses a disguised email as a weapon. The goal is to trick the email recipient into believing that the message is something they want or need, such as a request from their bank or a note from someone in their company requesting to click a link or download an attachment.