adjustable rate mortgages: Home loans with interest rates that change at specified times over the period of the mortgage.
advance fee fraud: A fraud in which the victim pays a fee on the basis that the victim will get a return in the future, such as a loan or a winning lottery ticket.
automatic payment: A payment to a creditor that is automatically deducted from a bank account or charged to a credit card.
bait and switch: A con in which customers are lured in by an extremely low sales price for an item and then are convinced to buy a similar, higher priced item.
balloon mortgage: A balloon mortgage offers lower monthly payments initially with a lump sum payment required at a specified time.
big con: A con that cannot be completed immediately. Usually the victim needs to go get money.
bizopps: Business opportunities that deliberately promise earnings that are unattainable to lure investors.
bogus: Counterfeit or fake.
boiler room: Sales room filled with high pressure telemarketers.
buyer scam: A con in which a victim is sent a bogus check, of which he keeps a “commission” and then sends a “balance” check back to the con artist. For this con to work, the victim has to send money to the con artist before realizing the check is bogus.
chain letter: A letter, email, or fax that asks the recipient to send out the same message to a number of other people to “keep the message going.”
check washing: A person can dip a check into acetone, which dissolves ink off the check. Then, the person can write a larger dollar amount onto the check.
collude: To work together to con or defraud someone else.
come on: The “hook” or advantage that con artists use to entice victims into the scam.
con: See scam.
con artist: A person who runs a scam or con.
counterfeit: Faked or forged.
credit card fraud: A con in which purchases are made using lost or stolen credit card numbers.
credit report: A profile of each person's credit history that financial institutions use help determine whether you are capable of repaying a loan.
credit reporting agencies: Three major companies, Experiam, Equifax and TransUnion, which track credit and provide credit reports to individuals or companies with legitimate requests.
defraud: To use deceit or cheat to gain a money, jewelry or some other valuable commodity.
dummy: Non-existent or fictitious.
earnest money: Money spent to show that you plan to follow through on a transaction.
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