What is the term for phishing conducted without a specific lure to attract victims?

Pharming is a malicious practice where users are redirected from legitimate websites to fraudulent ones without their knowledge or interaction based on DNS poisoning or other website manipulation techniques. Unlike phishing attempts that rely on specific lures, pharming operates in the background and doesn’t require the attacker to create a tailored bait to lure specific individuals. Instead, it aims at a broader audience by compromising the website’s integrity directly, allowing attackers to intercept sensitive information from users unwittingly visiting the falsified site.

Spear phishing, on the other hand, targets specific individuals with personalized content designed to elicit a response. Spimming refers to spam that is sent through instant messaging, which also has a more targeted approach but utilizes messaging platforms instead of traditional email or web manipulation. Whaling is a specialized form of phishing aimed at high-profile targets such as executives, using highly customized messages to increase the chances of success. Each of these methods involves a specific strategy to lure victims, differentiating them from the more indiscriminate approach of pharming.