A-Z of cyber crime and fraud

When a stranger contacts you and asks you to pay an admin fee to help move a large amount of money from one country to another with the promise you’ll be rewarded with a cut of the cash later on.

These emails can involve countries such as Iraq, South Africa or somewhere in West Africa such as Ivory Coast, Togo or Nigeria, where the name ‘419’ (an article of the country’s criminal code) originates.

When someone abuses their position of authority or trust for personal or financial gain, or so that someone else loses money or status.

An account takeover can happen when a fraudster or cyber criminal poses as a genuine customer, gains control of an account and then makes unauthorised transactions.

When an account is opened using fake or stolen documents in your name, using the account to withdraw cash, get credit, or find other ways to defraud you.

Asset misappropriation fraud happens when people who are entrusted to manage the assets of an organisation steal from it.

Learn what auction and online shopping fraud is, what methods criminals use to steal money and exploit people and how to protect yourself from this type of cyber crime.

Bank account fraud is when criminals illegally accesses or uses a bank account to steal money or financial information.

Bank card and cheque fraud happens when criminals steal your cards or chequebook and gain access to funds in your account.

Benefit fraud is committed when you deliberately claim benefits you are not entitled to.

Betting fraud happens when you are made offers of inside information or ‘foolproof’ systems that guarantee you profit from gambling.

Botnet is a distributed network of infected devices on the internet, used to commit coordinated cyber attacks without their owner's knowledge.
Botnet’s are often used to send spam emails, launch distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, steal data and facilitate other forms of cyber crime.

Business fraud occurs when a person or organisation dishonestly misrepresents facts or services with the intention of making a gain or causing a loss.

When a company tries to do business while insolvent, such as applying for credit or trading while suspended or disqualified, or reforms as a phoenix company to avoid paying creditors.

Fraudsters posing as customers can use a number of methods to deceive a business – the use of false personal details, using forged currency or someone else’s payment card details to pay for goods, or attempt to build a trusting relationship before placing an order or requesting a line of credit that they have no intention of honouring.

Crypto investment fraud is one of the fastest growing types of fraud in the UK, experienced by those who believe their ‘investment’ will vastly grow their money.

Courier fraud occurs when criminals contact you by phone and convince you to hand over money or your debit/credit card under false pretences.

When any product such as designer clothes, accessories, electricals or cosmetics are fake but sold as authentic.

When fake gift cards, certificates or bonds for a high street retailer or business are made by someone to look genuine and sold to consumers.

Council tax fraud is when a person deliberately gives incorrect or misleading information in order to pay less or no council tax.

Computer hacking refers to the unauthorised access or manipulation of computer systems, networks, or data.

Click fraud is when a pay-per-click online advert is deliberately clicked on in order to inflate a company’s advertising bill.

Charity fraud or charity donation fraud involves deceiving individuals into donating to fake charities or misusing funds intended for legitimate causes. Criminals exploit donors' goodwill, diverting money away from those in need and into their own pockets.

Sometimes criminals target cash points in order to commit fraud.

Bogus tradespeople, door-to-door sales or doorstep fraud involves fraudsters trying to defraud you after knocking at your door.

A denial of service (DoS) attack is an attempt to overload a website or network, with the aim of degrading its performance or even making it completely inaccessible. Typically a successful DoS attack will result in loss of availability of part, or all, of a system, and consume time and money to analyse, defend and recover from.

When personal information is stolen from your debit, credit or store card, or the card itself is stolen, in order for money to be taken from your account or used to buy items in your name.

‘Fronting’ is often used to describe a form of car insurance fraud, when someone claims to be the main driver on a car insurance policy when they are not.

£1.2 billion is lost to investment scams in the UK, with share sales, wine investments, land banking and carbon credits commonly used by fraudsters to target potential investors. Anyone can become a victim of investment fraud.

False accounting fraud happens when company assets are overstated or liabilities are understated in order to make a business appear financially stronger than it really is.

When you’ve paid a travel agent or agency, or someone offering short-term lodging for rent online, and find out that the holiday you’ve booked (or parts of it) doesn’t exist.

Fake invoice scams happen when fraudsters send an invoice or bill to an individual or company, requesting payment for goods or services.

Investment fraud involves deceiving individuals into investing money in fake or misrepresented opportunities. Promises of high returns with little risk are made, but the invested funds are stolen, resulting in significant financial losses for the victims.

Intellectual property fraud is when fake goods are passed off as originals.

Insurance-related frauds happen when false claims are made to insurance companies.

This is when someone from inside a company deals or tries to deal using inside information.

Inheritance fraud is when criminals convince a person that someone has passed away and left them an inheritance. The fraudsters will claim that the victim needs to pay a fee, such as a legal fee, in order to receive the inheritance. In reality, there is no inheritance and the fraudster will cease contact with the victim once they’ve received the "fee".

Identity theft is when your personal details are stolen and identity fraud is when those details are used to commit fraud.

Lottery, sweepstake or prize draw fraud happens after fraudsters contact you to tell you you’ve won a large sum of money in an international lottery, sweepstake or other prize draw.

Loan scams are a type of advance fee fraud. Fraud has been committed when money has been lost.

Mortgage fraud occurs where individuals defraud a financial institution or private lender through the mortgage process.

Money muling is when an individual, commonly referred to as a 'money mule' moves the proceeds of crime on behalf of criminals, sometimes in exchange for payment or other benefit.

Money laundering is the process where criminals hide the origins of their illegally gained money.

Mobile phone fraud involves fraudulent activity involving the sale of non-existent or substandard phone-related services, as well as scams that lead to unintended premium-rate calls or unwanted and expensive subscription sign ups.

Miracle health scams can include fake ‘miracle’ cures and weight loss products as well as bogus online pharmacies.

Health and medical scams happen after you receive an email or see an advert promising miracle tablets and other medical cures that offer unbelievable results.

Mass marketing fraud occurs when you receive unsolicited contact by email, letter or phone or advertisement where false promises are made to obtain money.

Marketing materials such as brochures can be produced to enable fraud.

Mandate Fraud, also known as Payment Diversion Fraud (PDF) and Business Email Compromise (BEC), tends to affect businesses and customers where electronic financial transactions are taking place.

Also known as ransomware, viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware, adware, scareware and crimeware - software that’s been made by someone so that your computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone doesn’t work as it’s supposed to. In some cases it also collects information or data saved on your device and passes it on.

Legitimate mail services, such as the use of mailboxes and post redirections, can be used to enable fraud.

Non-domestic rate fraud involves providing false information to avoid or reduce the business rates owed on commercial properties. This deceit results in an unfair financial advantage and reduces revenue for local authorities.

Office supply scams happen when telemarketers trick employees into ordering or paying for stationery.

Pyramid scheme fraud involves an unsustainable business which rewards people for enrolling others into a business that offers a non-existent or worthless product.

Fraud relating to public funding and grants happens when individuals, organisations (eg businesses or charities) or organised criminal groups claim public funding or grants that they are not eligible for.

Fraudulent claims could be made to a number of public organisations, eg local authorities, the Lottery Commission, European Union and the Student Loans Company.

If fraud has been committed, report it to Report Fraud.

Psychic and clairvoyant scams happen when a fraudster approaches you to tell you they have seen something either wonderful or terrible in your future. They ask for money in order to provide a full report about it.

The apparently psychic or clairvoyant fraudsters approach their victims by email, post, telephone call or even face-to-face.

They may tell you that you are in some kind of trouble, but can offer a solution in return for payment. They may claim to be able to give you winning lottery numbers, or offer to remove a curse.

The fraudsters tend to ask for an administration fee for their services.

Fraud has been committed if money has been lost.

If fraud has been committed, report it to Report Fraud.

Property fraud involves fraudsters offering you a ‘get rich quick’ investment scam, claiming it can turn you into a property millionaire.

Procurement fraud is any fraud relating to a company purchasing goods, services or commissioning construction projects from third parties.

Ponzi schemes are ‘get rich quick’ investment scams which pay returns to investors from their own money, or from money paid in by subsequent investors. There is no actual investment scheme as the fraudsters siphon off the money for themselves.

Cyber criminals use fake messages as bait to lure you into clicking on the links within their scam email or text message, or to give away sensitive information (such as bank details).

You may have been redirected to this page from a suspected pension fraud website. Report Fraud and the National Crime Agency have been working with law enforcement and regulatory partners to suspend these websites to protect the public.

Payment fraud is any fraud that involves falsely creating or diverting payments.

Business email compromise and payment diversion fraud are sophisticated cyber crimes that target individuals and businesses, aiming to deceive them into transferring funds or sensitive information to cybercriminals posing as legitimate entities. These scams often involve impersonation tactics, compromising email accounts, and manipulating communication to divert payments or sensitive data.

Dating and romance fraud (sometimes referred to as 'pig butchering' scams) involves deceiving someone into a fictitious romantic relationship, often online, to gain their trust and exploit them financially. Victims are manipulated through emotional connections, leading to significant financial loss and emotional distress.

Rental fraud happens when fraudsters trick would-be tenants into paying an upfront fee for a property that does not exist or is not available to rent. Once the criminals have received payment, they cease contact with the victim.

Employment fraud happens when a fraudster claims to be a recruitment agent, hiring you for a job – which can be in a foreign country - that doesn’t exist.

When someone who has been a victim of fraud in the past is contacted again by criminals. They pretend to be a government, police or law agency that can help recover the money that was lost, but ask for a fee to get it back.

Shopping and auction fraud involves fraudulent shopping scams that rely on the anonymity of the internet.

Share and bond scams are often run from 'boiler rooms' where fraudsters cold-call investors to pressure them into buying shares that promise high returns. In reality, the shares are either worthless or non-existent.

Financially Motivated Sexual Extortion (often referred to as ‘sextortion’) involves people being forced into paying money or meeting another financial demand, after an offender has threatened to release nude or semi-nude photos of them.

This could be a real photo taken by the victim, or a fake image created of them by the offender.

Spam emails are emails sent out to millions of email addresses to try to gain personal information.

Understand what 'smishing' fraud entails and how to protect yourself from suspicious messages.

Tax fraud includes tax evasion, where an individual or company avoids their tax liability by deliberately failing to declare their income, or by falsifying expenses. It also includes smuggling goods that are liable to excise duty, customs duty or VAT.

Tax theft can happen when a person claims amounts that are not due.

Tax fraud also happens when VAT is charged on a product, but that tax is not paid to the government and is instead stolen by the fraudster. This is known as Missing Trader Intra-Community Fraud (MTIC), or carousel fraud.

When you buy tickets from a website or agent for a concert or festival, a sporting event, or a live comedian or performer, but the tickets either don’t arrive or turn out to be fake and you aren’t refunded.

While timeshares are a legitimate sector of the travel industry, fraudsters seek to exploit the public in a number of ways.

This page is designed to help you understand vishing, recognise common tactics used by scammers, and learn how to stay safe from phone‑based fraud.

Scams relating to website domain names involve fraudsters offering businesses first refusal on a domain name, saying that someone else is just about to buy it.

An offer to make easy money by starting your own business by working from your own home. The scheme organiser will make you pay an advance fee, avoid paying you for the work you’ve done, make you buy worthless products or make you sign up others to the scheme before you’re paid.