Identity Theft Vocab

Crime of obtaining the personal or financial information of another person to use their identity to commit fraud.

• phishing

• skimming

• identity theft

• shoulder surfing

The act of listening in or looking over someone's shoulder to gain information used to commit fraud.

• phishing

• skimming

• identity theft

• shoulder surfing

Devices illegally installed on ATMs, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, or fuel pumps capture data or record cardholders' PINs.

• skimming

• shoulder surfing

• phishing

• dumpster diving

A technique for attempting to acquire sensitive data, such as bank account numbers, through a fraudulent solicitation in email or on a web site.

• skimming

• shoulder surfing

• phishing

• dumpster diving

Going into a trash can for documents that can be used for identity theft.

• skimming

• shoulder surfing

• phishing

• dumpster diving

someone pretending to be another person

• dumpster diver

• imposter

• phisher

• skyper

two factor authentication; an extra layer of protection used to ensure the security of online accounts beyond just a username and password.

• A2A

• AA@

• 2FA

• 2AF

a notice sent to credit bureaus letting them know that your information may have been stolen

• fraud alert

• security freeze

• credit report

• firewall

A precautionary measure that stops all access to your credit report.

• fraud alert

• security freeze

• credit report

• firewall

Software that protects your personal information by blocking it from an outside source.

• fraud alert

• security freeze

• credit report

• firewall