Glossary for Scams to Avoid

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by People's Law School in March 2017.

Catphishing: When someone assumes a fake identity to lure another person into an emotional or romantic relationship with them, so they can trick them out of their money.   

Consumer: A person who buys goods or services.

Contract: A legally recognized agreement made between two or more people.

Credit: The ability to obtain money or value based on trust that payment will be made in the future.

Credit report: A detailed list of a person’s credit and bill-paying history, and other information about them.

Credit score: A number that expresses the information in a person’s credit report at one point in time. The score indicates the risk the person represents for lenders, compared with other people, on a scale from 300 to 900. The higher the score, the lower the risk for lenders.

Creditor: A person or company to whom another person owes money or an obligation.

Debt: A sum of money or an obligation owed by one person to another.

Fraud: To intentionally deceive someone in order to gain an unfair or illegal advantage.

Identity theft: When someone takes personal information and uses it to access that person’s finances, make purchases in their name, or commit other crimes.

Malware: Software used to disrupt use of a computer or other device or gain access to sensitive information on the device.

Phishing: When someone sends a fake email or text to trick a person into handing over personal and financial information. Their message is being used as bait to “fish” for victims.

Scam: An illegal or dishonest scheme to trick people out of their money.

Spam: Email that is not wanted.

Spyware: Malicious software installed on a device without the owner realizing it.  

Virus: A harmful software program.

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