The scam dictionary – an A to Z of scams and ripoffs

New to the Internet? Struggling with some of the terms used to describe scams and online ripoffs? Keep reading for the Scam Detectives A to Z of scam terminology!

A is for Advance Fee Fraud – A bank official or deposed prince/politician needs your help to get millions of dollars out of the country and into your account and they’ll pay you handsomely for your help. Just as soon as you cough up a bribe here and a documentation fee there…. You’ll never see the cash – It’s a scam!

B is for Boiler Room – You get a phone call or an email offering you a fantastic investment. Some shares are about to go through the roof and your new friends wants you to get in on the ground floor to make some serious money. The shares are either worthless or never existed in the first place – Don’t get your fingers burnt!

C is for Competition scam – Had an automated message that says you’ve won a great holiday, or a brand new car? It’s another scam – If you haven’t entered a competition then you haven’t won anything!

D is for Dating scam - If your new online girlfriend suddenly needs money for an urgent operation, or your new fella is involved in a dreadful accident and can’t pay his medical bills… Cut off all contact and DON’T SEND ANY MONEY!

E is for Employment scam – A great opportunity to make easy money from home? Just need a bank account and a computer? It’s a scam and you could end up in hot water!

F is for Fake Websites – They could be selling hot tickets, a great new diet product, designer clothes or the latest electronic gadget but watch out! Fake websites are everywhere! If the price looks too good to be true, you can’t pay by credit card (or don’t see the padlock in the address bar) or the site just doesn’t “feel” right, walk away!

G is for Gold Dust scam – A variation on Advance Fee Fraud, this scam starts with an email from someone needing help to dispose of millions of dollars worth of gold dust. Gold dust? May as well be Fairy dust for all the return you’ll see on your investment!

H is for Hacking – Many scams are designed to give fraudsters access to your computer and the valuable data that’s stored on it. Don’t give hackers a chance, secure your system with a strong firewall and beware of dodgy email attachments

I is for Impersonation – Scammers often impersonate real officials at genuine organisations. Probably the most famous of these is Professor Charles Soludo, the previous governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Scammers sometimes slip up on this – we received an email from Hubert J Farnsworth, the mad professor from popular animated series “Futurama”

J is for Jury Duty scam – A scam reported in the US, where victims were contacted by a Jury Coordinator to confirm their service. When the victims protested that they had received no summons, the “coordinator” took their social security number and other details to verify that they had called the right person. Don’t give personal details over the phone, they could be used to steal your identity

K is for Keylogger – The victim is duped into downloading a small program that records every keystroke made on the computer and reports back to the scammer. This is used to capture credit card details, website logon details and other personal information leaving you vulnerable to ID theft and fraud. Beware of file downloads from Peer to Peer sites, Torrents and other dodgy stuff which can mask this malware

L is for Link – A link is any text or image that will direct you to a website if you click on it. Also known as a Hyperlink. Links can easily be forged to look as though they will take you to an official website. Avoid clicking on links in emails, especially to login to your bank, email or social networking accounts

M is for Malware – This describes any software which has an undesirable effect on your computer’s operation. It could open up a “back door” to hackers, install a keylogger or wipe your hard drive. Malware can be installed on your computer just by visiting an infected website. Ensure your anti-virus is active and updated regularly

N is for Nigerian Letter – A common name for Advance Fee Fraud (regardless of the country of origin of the scammer) because of the prevalance of this kind of fraud in Nigeria. Advance Fee Fraud can come from anywhere in the world – Just because it mentions the UK, or Canada, or your home country, it doesn’t mean that’s where it actually originated

O is for Organised Crime – Many scams are operated (or funded) by organised criminal gangs. That’s why we don’t advocate “scam baiting” or “reverse scamming” unless proper precautions are taken. Scammers can be seriously nasty people…

P is for Phishing – Have you had an email from your bank asking you to log in and check your account, or update your details? Delete it straight away – It’s a scam designed to harvest your login details by tricking you into logging in to a fake website which will capture your details so scammers can empty your account.

Q is for Queen – Yes, even Her Majesty has been impersonated by scammers posing as representatives of the Queen Elizabeth Foundation, offering personal development and educational grants to disabled people. In return for an administration fee. How low can scammers get I hear you ask? – pretty damn low!

R is for Recovery scam – Scammers pose as law enforcement officials who have recovered the money you paid to a scammer and can return it to you. Of course there’s a fee, how else will they get more out of you? We hate this type of scam with a passion as it is often used to get a second bite of the cherry from someone who has already lost a fortune to fraudsters.

S is for Spam – Be it Viagra, Rolex watches or a great deal on the latest gadget, the spammers have it all. You’ll probably end up with a dangerous fake drug, a mickey mouse watch or just losing your money altogether, but hey, they don’t care, they’re laughing all the way to the bank! We believe the origin of the term “Spam” as it applies to email has something to do with Monty Python, but we’ll leave you to google it!

T is for Temptation – The lure of millions of dollars in free money can be tempting to the most honest person. The scammers rely on this and hope to dupe you into going along with the scam. There is no money, so don’t even think about what those millions could buy for you and your family!

U is for UPS – An email arrives from UPS, DHL, Parcelforce or another courier telling you about a failed parcel delivery. To collect the parcel you need to download the shipping note. There is no parcel and the “shipping note” is actually a virus. Delete the email immediately.

V is for Virus – A virus is any piece of software that has undesirable effects on your computer. It could wipe data, open up a back door to hackers or install a keylogger so scammers can track your movements online (and get your personal info) Make sure your anti-virus is active and updated regularly

W is for Wash Wash scam – Scammers convince their victims that wads of black paper in a trunk are actually $100 bills that have been stained to fool customs officials. All that’s needed to spend them is a few gallons of a (very expensive) chemical to “wash” the notes clean. If you fall for this, the only one taken to the cleaners will be you!

X is for XXX-rated – Porn sites are a notorious haven for spammers, scammers and hackers. Let’s face it, you’re unlikely to report getting scammed by “naughty-nurses-get-their-kit-off.com” because they took your subscription money and didn’t give you naughty nurses now, are you? If you need to get your kicks in this way, stick to well established and trusted websites who are members of the Adult Webmasters Association

Y is for Youtube scam – Myspace users were hit by a scam involving fake Youtube players which tricked them into downloading malware. You shouldn’t have to download anything to view Youtube videos, unless your computer is REALLY old!

Z is for Zombie – No, we’re not talking “Night of the living dead” here, but computers that have been taken over by hackers and used to send Spam or Scam emails to massive mailing lists. If you start getting replies or bounce messages for emails you haven’t sent, your computer could be a zombie

Tags: A to Z