a type of confidence fraud in which a victim is persuaded to provide a fraudster with money in advance of earning more significant funds. Common advance-fee frauds include Nigerian 419, black-money and inheritance scams.

a business model in which potential buyers bid on items for sale online

a program that creates an opening on a computer to remotely access files without the owner's knowledge

software that permanently resides on a computer's memory and is designed to be among the first steps taken when a computer boots up. It tells a computer how it is configured and how its various components should interact. Such software is often referred to as firmware.

a Web site, usually maintained by an individual, that is updated regularly with commentary, personal information, video or photos. Also known as a weblog.

a single computer that has been infected with malware and forms one part of a network known as a botnet

a group of bots that are infected with malware and controlled by a different and often remote computer, known as a herder, to perform specific coordinated tasks

see VoIP

an individual who is an expert at using stolen credit card and other personal information to obtain fraudulent wire transfers

an online fraud in which the perpetrator breaches the victim's trust to cause a financial loss. Common confidence and consumer scams include advance-fee schemes, online auction fraud and solicitations for charitable contributions.

the deliberate disruption of computer networks through the Internet with the intention of causing harm

commerce that is conducted via the Internet

electronic mail sent via the Internet

a file that causes a computer to perform specific tasks as opposed to a file that contains data. Fraudsters often attach executable files containing malware to e-mails sent to their victims. Such files usually end in the extension ".exe."

computer programs that reside permanently in a hardware device

a collection of personal information that can be legitimately purchased on the Internet and used to steal an identity

illegally gaining access to a computer by reprogramming or reconfiguring it or by cracking a password

a computer that remotely controls bots in a botnet

a programming language used to create documents on the Internet

a type of fraud in which someone obtains another person's identifying information, such as a credit card number or Social Security number, and uses it for personal financial gain

a form of real-time communication using a shared network, most commonly the Internet. IM is also used by hackers to send viruses.

a series of four three-digit numbers separated by periods (such as 190.023.067.235), which identifies the Internet service provider and account identification for every computer connected to the Internet

an organization that provides Internet access and related services

see VoIP

a type of fraud designed to entice victims to purchase nonexistent, misrepresented or manipulated investments or securities online

malicious software that can infect computers and cause damage and steal information, such as spyware, worms, viruses and Trojan horses

data that provides information about data. Metadata is used to describe the properties of information, such as file name, size and date of creation.

a coded element on a Web site that describes the content of the page. Meta tags are most commonly recognized as hidden HTML tags that describe attributes of a page's content. Such attributes include keywords and descriptions. A search engine may refer to a Web page's meta tags when indexing.

the use of an online auction Web site for a fraudulent purpose. Common auction frauds include non-delivery of goods, selling stolen or illegal products, product misrepresentation and price manipulation.

a type of Internet fraud in which the online purchaser pays for products with a fraudulent check, an invalid credit card number or a fraudulent escrow account, resulting in a financial loss to the seller

searching network information and messages for passwords

a series of actions that redirects victims to a fraudulent Web site designed to look like a legitimate organization's site for the purpose of collecting private data

a fraudulent attempt to acquire private information from an individual via SMS text messages, e-mail or instant messages from a sender purporting to be a trustworthy authority

a removable device in a cell phone that stores the user's identifying information

a form of phishing conducted through cell phones via SMS text messages

communication tool that allows users to send and receive text messages, usually via cell phones

misappropriating many small sums of money to create one large sum

a form of malware that collects information about computer users and their actions without their knowledge

a form of malware that is designed to appear harmless to victims and gives hackers access to their computers

a form of malware capable of copying itself and attaching to other programs

a form of phishing conducted via VoIP communications

technology that enables voice communications over the Internet. Also known as Internet telephony or broadband telephony.

the practice of seeking out unsecured wireless networks for anonymous Internet access to commit crimes

a software application that is accessed by a Web browser over the Internet rather than being installed on a computer

see blog

an investigation tool used to uncover the registrant of a domain name or an owner of an IP address

similar to a virus, a worm is a form of malware that can copy itself without needing a host program