Scam Glossary

Account Takeover (ATO)

Account takeover (ATO) happens when a scammer gains unauthorized access to one of your online accounts—such as email, banking, or social media—and uses it without your permission. This often happens after scammers trick someone into sharing login details or verification codes.

Authorized Push Payment (APP) Fraud

Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud is a type of scam where someone is tricked into willingly sending money to a scammer. The payment appears authorized because the person initiates it, even though it was done under false or misleading information.

Caller ID

Caller ID is a phone feature that shows information about an incoming call—such as a phone number or caller name—before you answer. While Caller ID can be helpful, scammers can manipulate what you see (often called “spoofing”) to make a call look legitimate or familiar.

Catfishing

Catfishing is when someone creates a fake online identity to build trust or form a relationship with another person. In many cases, the goal is manipulation—such as asking for money, gifts, or personal information—though the interaction may begin as friendly or romantic.

Deepfake Scam

A deepfake scam is a type of fraud that uses artificial intelligence to create fake audio, video, or images that impersonate a real person. Scammers use these convincing fakes to gain trust, create urgency, or pressure someone into sending money or sharing information.

Fake Alert

A fake alert is a pop-up, text, or email that invents an emergency — a virus, a locked account, a suspicious charge — to make you act before you think. The alert itself is the scam.

Family Emergency Scam

A family emergency scam is when a scammer contacts you pretending to be a family member—often a grandchild, child, or close relative—claiming to be in an urgent crisis and asking you to send money immediately. These scams exploit the natural instinct to help loved ones in distress.

Fraud

Fraud is the intentional use of deception to obtain money, property, or personal information from a victim. Unlike informal scams, fraud is a legal term that describes criminal activity punishable by fines, restitution, or imprisonment.

Grandparent Scam

A grandparent scam is when a scammer pretends to be a grandchild in trouble—like after an accident or arrest—to trick seniors into sending money that they believe to be for their grandchild.

Impersonation scam

An impersonation scam is a type of fraud where a scammer poses as a trusted person or organization—such as a bank, government agency, utility company, or well-known business—to pressure someone into sharing personal information, sending money, or taking urgent action.

Imposter Scam

An imposter scam is a type of impersonation scam where a scammer claims to be a real and recognizable authority or contact—such as the IRS, Social Security, a bank, a tech company, or even a family member—in order to convince someone to send money or reveal sensitive information.

Malware

Malware, short for “malicious software,” is harmful code designed to damage, steal data, or gain unauthorized access to your device. It includes viruses, ransomware, spyware, and other dangerous programs.

MFA Fatigue

MFA fatigue is a scam tactic where a scammer repeatedly sends multi-factor authentication (MFA) prompts to a user. The goal is to overwhelm or frustrate the person into approving a login request, which can give the scammer access to the account.

Neighbor Spoofing

Neighbor spoofing is a phone scam tactic where a caller disguises their number to look like a local or nearby phone number. Scammers do this to make the call seem familiar and increase the chance that someone will answer.

OTP (One-Time Password)

An OTP, or one-time password, is a temporary security code sent to your phone, email, or app to confirm your identity. It’s commonly used during logins or transactions and is meant to be used once and kept private.

Phishing

Phishing is a type of scam where messages appear to come from a trusted organization—such as a bank, company, or government agency—but are actually designed to steal personal information, login credentials, or payment details.

Recovery Scam

A recovery scam is when someone claims they can help you recover money or assets you lost to a scam—but their real goal is to take more money or personal information. Recovery scammers often contact people who have already been victimized and may pose as investigators, lawyers, or “support” teams.

Romance Scam

A romance scam is a type of fraud where someone pretends to form a romantic or emotional relationship online in order to gain trust and eventually steal money, financial access, or personal information.

Scam

A scam is a deceptive scheme designed to trick people into sending money, sharing personal information, or giving access to accounts by pretending to be legitimate, urgent, or trustworthy.

Scam Likely

“Scam Likely” is a warning label used by phone carriers to indicate that an incoming call may be associated with scam activity or robocalls. The label is based on call patterns and reports, not on the caller’s identity alone.

Scam Script

A scam script is a prepared message or conversation scammers use to guide calls, texts, or emails. Scripts are designed to sound official, control the flow of the interaction, and pressure people into sharing information or sending money without verifying information first.

Scareware

Scareware is malicious software that uses fake virus alerts or alarming pop-ups to scare you into paying for fake protection, downloading real malware, or giving scammers access to your device.

Smishing

Smishing is a text-message–based scam tactic where messages impersonate banks, companies, or government agencies to pressure people into taking action.

Social Engineering

Social engineering uses psychological tricks like trust, fear, urgency, or authority, rather than technical hacking, to convince people to share info, send money, or take unsafe actions.

Spam

Spam refers to unsolicited or unwanted messages—such as emails, texts, or phone calls—sent in bulk, usually for advertising or promotional purposes.

Spoofing

Spoofing is when a scammer hides their real identity to look like a trusted source, by faking phone numbers, email addresses, or websites so messages or calls seem legitimate.

Verification Code Scam

A verification code scam happens when a scammer convinces you to share a one-time login or security code. These codes are meant to protect your account, but sharing one can allow scammers to bypass security and gain access.

Vishing

Vishing, short for “voice phishing,” is a scam where someone uses phone calls to impersonate a trusted organization or person. The goal is to pressure you into sharing personal information, verification codes, or sending money. Some vishing calls now use AI-generated voices or scripts, making them sound more realistic.

Voice Cloning

Voice cloning uses AI to create a realistic copy of someone’s voice. Scammers can clone a voice from just seconds of audio to impersonate loved ones or trusted people and trick victims.