Vocabulary

• Financial Scams – Deceptive practices designed to provide the scammer with unlawful gain, often at the expense of the victim.
• Ponzi Scheme – A fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors.
• Pyramid Scheme – A business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme.
• Phishing – A method of trying to gather personal information using deceptive e-mails and websites.
• Identity Theft – The deliberate use of another person's identifying information, usually for financial gain.
• Advance Fee Fraud – A scam where the victim pays money in anticipation of receiving something of greater value, but receives nothing in return.
• Mortgage Fraud – A financial crime that involves deliberate misrepresentation, misstatement, or omission in relation to a mortgage loan.
• Credit Card Fraud – Unauthorized use of someone's credit card information for fraudulent purposes.
• Check Fraud – The illegal process of using a fake or altered check to illicitly acquire funds that do not exist within the account balance.
• Investment Fraud – An offer, sale or purchase of securities or commodities that is deliberately made to deceive investors.
• Pump and Dump – A scheme that attempts to boost the price of a stock through recommendations based on false, misleading, or exaggerated statements.
• Securities Fraud – Misrepresentation of information investors use to make decisions.
• Insurance Fraud – An act committed with the intent to obtain a fraudulent outcome from an insurance process.
• Wire Fraud – Financial fraud involving the use of telecommunications or information technology.
• Money Laundering – The process of making illegally-gained proceeds appear legal.
• Tax Fraud – The intentional falsification of information on a tax return to avoid paying the correct amount of tax due.
• Embezzlement – Theft or misappropriation of funds placed in one's trust, typically in a corporate setting.
• Insider Trading – Buying or selling a security in breach of a fiduciary duty or other relationship of trust and confidence while in possession of material, non-public information.
• Counterfeit – Imitation of something, typically money, with the intent to deceive or defraud.
• Ransomware – A type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid.
• Spoofing – A scam where the criminal disguises an electronic communication from an unknown source as being from a known, trusted source.
• Lottery Scam – A type of advance-fee fraud which begins with an unexpected email notification, phone call, or mailing explaining that "You have won!" a large sum of money in a lottery.
• Romance Scam – A confidence trick involving feigned romantic intentions towards a victim, gaining their affection, and then using that goodwill to commit fraud.
• Debt Collection Scam – A fraudulent operation where the scammer poses as a debt collector and attempts to collect on a fraudulent debt.
• Job Scam – A scam where a scammer pretends to be an employer and offers a job that does not exist.
• Charity Scam – A type of fraud where the scammer poses as a charitable organization to collect money.
• Tech Support Scam – A scam where fraudsters trick victims into paying for unnecessary technical support services.
• Forex Scam – Schemes committed by dishonest brokers, traders, or marketers in the foreign exchange market.
• Pension Scam – A scam where the scammer poses as a financial advisor and convinces the victim to transfer their pension funds.
• Inheritance Scam – A scam where the scammer poses as a lawyer or banker and informs the victim that they have inherited a large sum of money.
• Gift Card Scam – A scam where the scammer convinces the victim to purchase gift cards and provide the codes as a form of payment.
• Rental Scam – A scam where the scammer poses as a landlord or property manager and rents a property they do not own.
• Auction Fraud – A scam where an item purchased through an online auction or sales site is never delivered after payment, or the item is not as described by the seller.
• Ticket Scam – A scam where the scammer sells fake or duplicate tickets to concerts, sports events, or other entertainment events.
• Recovery Scam – A scam where the scammer poses as a law enforcement officer or lawyer and offers to help recover money lost in a previous scam.
• Timeshare Scam – A scam where the scammer sells or rents a timeshare that they do not own.
• Prize Scam – A scam where the scammer informs the victim that they have won a prize, but must pay a fee or provide personal information to claim it.
• Jury Duty Scam – A scam where the scammer poses as a court official and claims the victim has missed jury duty and must pay a fine.
• Grandparent Scam – A scam where the scammer poses as a grandchild in need and asks the victim to send money.
• CEO Fraud – A scam where the scammer poses as a company executive and requests a wire transfer or sensitive information.
• Binary Options Scam – A scam involving binary options trading, often through unregulated platforms.
• Chain Letter Scam – A fraudulent scheme promising high returns to participants from payments made by later recruits.
• Pet Scam – A scam where the scammer poses as a pet seller and takes payment for a pet that does not exist.
• Sweetheart Scam – A scam where the scammer poses as a romantic interest and convinces the victim to send money or gifts.
• Work-at-Home Scam – A scam where the scammer offers a job opportunity that requires the victim to pay a fee upfront.
• Mystery Shopping Scam – A scam where the scammer offers a job as a mystery shopper and requires the victim to pay a fee for information or materials.
• Fake Check Scam – A scam where the scammer sends a fake check and convinces the victim to deposit it and send a portion of the money back.
• Door-to-Door Scam – A scam where the scammer sells products or services door-to-door that are never delivered or are of poor quality.
• Medical Alert Scam – A scam where the scammer offers a "free" medical alert system and attempts to collect personal information or a monthly fee.
• Government Grant Scam – A scam where the scammer offers a government grant in exchange for a fee or personal information.