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Glossary
Scam glossary
51 words from inside the scam world and the fraud-fighting world, explained simply.
- 1930 helpline
- India's National Cybercrime Helpline. Call 1930 as fast as you can after losing money online, so banks can try to freeze the money before it moves. Read more →
- Advance-fee fraud
- A scam where you are promised a big prize, loan, job or inheritance, but must first pay a 'fee', 'tax' or 'charge'. The reward never comes, and the fees keep growing. Read more →
- Chakshu (Sanchar Saathi)
- A facility on India's Sanchar Saathi portal from the Department of Telecommunications. You can use it to report suspected fraud calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages, even if you did not lose money. Read more →
- Chargeback
- A request to your bank or card company to reverse a card payment. It can help with card fraud if you act quickly, but it usually does not work for UPI transfers, gift cards or crypto. Read more →
- Crypto wallet
- An app or device that holds the keys to your cryptocurrency. Anyone who gets your seed phrase (recovery words) can empty the wallet, so never share it with anyone. Read more →
- Cybercrime.gov.in
- India's official National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. Use it to file a complaint about online fraud, and call 1930 too if money was taken. Read more →
- Debt bondage
- Forcing a person to work to pay off a 'debt' that is made up or keeps growing, such as travel costs, fines or a 'ransom' to leave. Scam compounds use it to keep trafficked workers from leaving. Read more →
- Deep chat
- Scam-compound jargon for a longer conversation with a target that may turn into a scam. Workers move from small talk to building trust, often over days or weeks. Read more →
- Deepfake
- A fake video, photo or voice made with AI to look or sound like a real person. Scammers use deepfakes to pose as family, officials or celebrities. Read more →
- Digital arrest
- A scam where fake police, CBI or customs officers keep you on a video call, claim you are under 'arrest', and demand money to clear your name. Real Indian police do not arrest people over video calls or ask for payment. Read more →
- Drum
- Scam-compound jargon from the Boshang compound leak: a drum was struck to celebrate a theft of $100,000 or more. It shows how big wins were cheered on the scam floor. Read more →
- eMigrate
- The Indian government's online system (Ministry of External Affairs) for overseas jobs. You can use it to check whether a recruiting agent is registered before you accept a job abroad. Read more →
- Fake exchange
- A fake crypto or trading website or app that shows made-up profits. When you try to withdraw, it asks for 'taxes' or 'fees', or locks your account. Read more →
- First chat
- Scam-compound jargon for the first message sent to a target, often a 'wrong number' text or a friendly social media message. The aim is only to get a reply. Read more →
- Gift card scam
- A scam where you are told to pay a 'fine', bill or fee with gift cards and share the card codes. No real government office or company asks for payment in gift cards. Read more →
- Golden Triangle SEZ
- The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Bokeo province, Laos, near the borders of Thailand and Myanmar. It is widely reported as a hub for scam compounds and trafficking. Read more →
- Impersonation
- Pretending to be someone you trust, such as a bank, police officer, courier, boss or relative. It is the starting point of most scams, so always check through an official number you look up yourself. Read more →
- KYC
- Know Your Customer: the ID checks banks and apps must do. Scammers send fake 'KYC update' messages with links to steal your login, card or OTP. Read more →
- Malvertising
- Malicious ads that look normal but lead to fake websites, fake customer care numbers or harmful downloads. Even ads at the top of search results can be scams. Read more →
- Money mule
- A person who lets their bank account be used to receive and pass on stolen money, sometimes without knowing it. Being a mule can lead to a frozen account and criminal charges. Read more →
- Mule account
- A bank or UPI account used to receive and move stolen money. Scammers rent, buy or trick people into opening them, and police can freeze them. Read more →
- Opening a customer
- Scam-compound jargon for the first successful theft from a victim. After this, workers try to take more money from the same person. Read more →
- OTP
- One-time password: a short code sent to confirm a login or payment. Never share an OTP with anyone, even if they say they are from your bank. Read more →
- Palermo Protocol
- The United Nations protocol, adopted in 2000, to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons. It gives the international legal definition of human trafficking. Read more →
- Persona
- A fake identity used by a scammer, with a made-up name, photos, job and life story. Compound workers are given personas, often an attractive, wealthy person, to win a target's trust. Read more →
- Phishing
- Fake emails, messages or websites that trick you into giving passwords, card details or OTPs. Check the sender and never log in through a link you did not expect. Read more →
- Pig butchering (sha zhu pan)
- A long scam where a stranger builds trust or romance, then pulls you into a fake investment, usually crypto. The name comes from the Chinese term sha zhu pan, meaning 'fattening the pig' before the 'slaughter'. Read more →
- Ponzi scheme
- A fake investment that pays early investors with money from newer investors, not real profits. It collapses when new money stops coming in. Read more →
- Pyramid scheme
- A scheme where you earn mainly by recruiting others who pay to join, not by selling a real product. Most people at the bottom lose money. Read more →
- Quota
- A target for how much money or how many victims a scam-compound worker must bring in. Workers who miss their quota can face fines, beatings or longer hours. Read more →
- Recharge
- Scam-compound jargon for scamming the same victim again, getting them to put in more money after the first theft. Read more →
- Recovery scam
- A second scam aimed at people who already lost money. Fake 'recovery agents', lawyers or hackers promise to get your money back for a fee. Read more →
- Red flag
- A warning sign that something may be a scam, such as urgency, secrecy, pressure to pay, or a stranger offering easy money. Read more →
- Remote access app
- Apps like screen-sharing tools that let someone else see or control your phone or computer. Scammers posing as support staff ask you to install them, then take your money. Read more →
- Romance scam
- A scam where someone builds a fake online relationship, then asks for money for an emergency, travel or an 'investment'. They usually avoid real meetings or live video. Read more →
- Rug pull
- A crypto scam where the creators of a token or project hype it up, collect investors' money, then disappear with the funds. Read more →
- Scam compound
- A guarded building complex, often in Southeast Asia, where people, many of them trafficked, are forced to run online scams. Workers may have their passports taken and face violence. Read more →
- Sextortion
- Blackmail using intimate photos or videos, sometimes recorded during a video call or faked with AI. The scammer threatens to share them unless you pay. Read more →
- SIM swap
- When a scammer gets your mobile number moved to a new SIM, often by tricking the phone company. They then receive your OTPs and can empty your accounts. Read more →
- Smishing
- Phishing by SMS: fake texts about bank accounts, parcels, bills or rewards with a link or number to call. Read more →
- Manipulating people, not computers, to get money or information. Scammers use fear, urgency, greed, kindness or trust to make you act without thinking. Read more →
- Special economic zone
- An area with special business and tax rules set by a government. Some SEZs in Southeast Asia, such as the Golden Triangle SEZ in Laos, have been linked to scam compounds. Read more →
- Spoofing
- Faking a phone number, email address or sender name so a call or message looks like it comes from a trusted source. Caller ID alone does not prove who is calling. Read more →
- Task scam
- A scam that pays you small amounts for easy tasks like liking videos or rating hotels, then asks you to 'invest' to unlock bigger tasks and keeps your money. Read more →
- Trafficking for forced criminality
- Human trafficking where victims are forced to commit crimes, such as running online scams. Many scam-compound workers were lured with fake job offers. Read more →
- Two-factor authentication
- An extra login step, such as a code or app approval, on top of your password. Turn it on for email, banking and social media, and never share the codes. Read more →
- Typosquatting
- Using website addresses that look almost like real ones, with a small spelling change or extra word. Always check the full address before you log in or pay. Read more →
- UPI collect request
- A request to pull money from your UPI account. Approving it or entering your PIN sends money out; you never need a PIN to receive money. Read more →
- USDT (Tether)
- A cryptocurrency 'stablecoin' designed to stay worth about one US dollar. Scammers often ask victims to buy and send USDT because it moves fast and is hard to reverse. Read more →
- Vishing
- Voice phishing: scam phone calls from fake bank staff, police, courier companies or tech support trying to get your details or money. Read more →
- Wallet drainer
- Malicious crypto code, often on a fake website, that empties your wallet once you 'connect' it and approve a transaction. Read more →
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