FLORIDA – A coalition of fishermen took to social media platforms yesterday to protest an anti-phishing campaign that they feel is hurting their long and noble trade.
“There have been fishers for millennia,” states Haggis McFishmonger. “These phishing folk have no business dragging our name through the seaweed. We were here first!” While phishing attacks are still on the rise, sources say that the fishing industry is showing a 47% decrease in sales. The culprit appears to be the general public's confusion between the two words due to an anti-phishing campaign which was recently launched.
“Phishing…fishing… I don’t know who to trust,” says Laura Fillet in an interview at a local grocery store. “I don’t buy fish anymore because I don’t want my information exposed. I really miss fish tacos.”
The general lack of clarity has not gone unnoticed by the anti-phishing campaign LureDeep Antiphish. In a publicly issued statement, LureDeep explains that some of the confusion stems from a recent infographic that they ran which highlighted an angry looking fisherman reeling a person in. The infographic also detailed out that phishing is the attempt to capture information from a person by posing as a trustworthy source. LureDeep Antiphish has since offered an apology to fishermen everywhere.
“While I appreciate that gesture,” continues McFishmonger, “it may be a little too late. Just the other day a little boy saw me on my boat and shouted, ‘you’ll never get my information.’ He stuck out his tongue and ran away. I’m just an old fishermen looking to catch fish. I don’t want your information.”
With sales floundering, larger fishing organizations are attempting to change 'fish' to other terms rather than wait for 'phish' to be updated to something else. This calls into question other names for fish, of which there are not many. Apart from the individual species to highlight, the options are quite crappie. Current studies are showing that the phish/fish dilemma has resulted in 'chum' being a more acceptable word.
Both LureDeep Antiphish and anglers everywhere are urging the public to reconsider the aquatic food alternative to beef, pork, lamb, and poultry. In a public statement, LureDeep Antiphish offers non-phish fish options.
"We apologize for the infographic which depicted a fisherman reeling in another human. To confirm, phishing and fishing are not the same thing. Nearly all fish and fishing operations are void of phishing. Here is a brief list of some of the options that are phish-free: salmon, tuna, halibut, sardine, cod, tilapia, catfish, trout, herring, mahi-mahi, mackerel, orange roughy, grouper, snapper, bass, and more. Please consider these food choices without worrying about your information being compromised."