An individual who commits a crime thru the use of a computer or the internet with the intention of stealing personal information (identity theft) or disrupting of computer operations.

Transformation of data into a form that conceals the data's original meaning to prevent it from being known or used.

Security software that blocks unauthorized entities from gaining access to your computing environment.

A individual who attempts to gain unauthorized access to proprietary or secured computer systems and data.

Identity theft is any kind of fraud that results in the loss of personal data, such as passwords, user names, banking information, or credit card numbers.

A keylogger monitors what is being typed at keyboards and what mouse movements or clicks are being generated. Keyloggers come in hardware and software versions. A fraudster can go through the logs looking for account credentials and answers to challenge questions. Sophisticated software key loggers can also capture what is displayed on the screen.

Short for malicious software, it is any kind of unwanted software that is installed without your consent. Viruses, worms, and Trojan horses are examples of malicious software that are often grouped together and referred to as malware.

A type of online identity theft which uses email and fraudulent websites that are designed to steal your personal data or information.

A form of fraud similar to phishing that uses text messages to lure consumers into divulging important information. The text message often requires the consumers immediate attention, the contact info in the text will contain an URL or phone number. The phone number often has an automated voice response system, which requests personal or account inf [..]

A non-technical or low-technology means - such as lies, impersonation, tricks, bribes, blackmail, and threats - used to trick victims into providing sensitive personal information that can be used to access online accounts or steal their identity.