Email Giants Move to Slash 'Phishing'

Email-service providers Google Inc., Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and AOL Inc. are backing a new effort intended to dramatically reduce "phishing" emails—which attempt to trick recipients into thinking they come from a legitimate source.

The companies—along with others such as financial-service companies Bank of America Corp., FMR LLC's Fidelity Investments and eBay Inc.'s PayPal—are hoping to create an environment that allows the recipient of an email from, say, a bank, to feel secure that it isn't a trick.