25 terms
Glossary
Plain-English definitions of every term that shows up in scams, security, technology, money and estate planning: phishing, smishing, passkey, SIM swap, deepfake, RMD, power of attorney and hundreds more. One sentence each, then why it matters to you.
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A
- Authenticator app
- An authenticator app generates the six-digit login codes used for two-factor authentication on your phone, without needing a text message.
C
- Catch-up contribution
- A catch-up contribution is the extra amount people aged 50 and over are allowed to put into a 401(k), IRA or similar account above the standard annual limit.
- Credential stuffing
- Credential stuffing is when attackers take email-and-password pairs leaked in one breach and try them automatically on thousands of other sites.
- Credit freeze
- A credit freeze is a free setting at each of the three credit bureaus that blocks anyone from opening a new account in your name until you lift it.
- Currently Not Collectible
- Currently Not Collectible (CNC) is an IRS status in which collection is paused because the IRS has agreed that paying would leave you unable to cover basic living expenses.
D
- Data breach
- A data breach is a security incident in which a company's stored customer data, such as emails, passwords, Social Security numbers or card numbers, is stolen.
- Deepfake
- A deepfake is a video, image or audio recording generated or altered by AI to show a real person saying or doing something they did not.
G
- Gift card payment
- Gift card payment is the demand that you pay a debt, fee or fine by buying gift cards and reading the numbers over the phone; it is the signature of a scam because the money is untraceable and irreversible.
H
- Healthcare proxy
- A healthcare proxy (or healthcare power of attorney) is a document naming the person who makes medical decisions for you if you cannot.
I
- Identity theft
- Identity theft is the use of your personal information, such as your Social Security number or date of birth, to open accounts, file tax returns or get medical care in your name.
- Installment agreement
- An installment agreement is an IRS payment plan that lets you pay a tax balance monthly, typically over up to 72 months for balances under $50,000.
O
- Offer in Compromise
- An Offer in Compromise is an IRS program that lets a taxpayer settle a tax debt for less than the full amount when the IRS agrees it could not collect more.
P
- Passkey
- A passkey is a login method that replaces your password with a cryptographic key stored on your phone or computer and unlocked with your face, fingerprint or device PIN; it cannot be phished because it only works on the real site.
- Password manager
- A password manager is an app that creates, stores and fills a different strong password for every account, locked behind one master password or your device's face or fingerprint unlock.
- Phishing
- Phishing is a fake email, text or website designed to look like a company you trust so that you will enter a password, card number or personal details.
- Power of attorney
- A power of attorney is a legal document that lets a person you choose act for you in financial or legal matters; a durable one stays in effect if you become incapacitated.
R
- Remote access software
- Remote access software lets another person see and control your computer over the internet; legitimate for IT support, and the main tool of tech-support scams.
- Required minimum distribution
- A required minimum distribution (RMD) is the amount the IRS requires you to withdraw each year from traditional retirement accounts once you reach the age set by law.
S
- SIM swap
- A SIM swap is an attack in which a scammer convinces your phone carrier to move your number to their phone, so that they receive your calls and text-message login codes.
- Smishing
- Smishing is phishing by text message: a text that pretends to be a toll agency, delivery company or bank and links to a fake page that collects your details.
- Spoofing
- Spoofing is faking the sender of a call, text or email so it appears to come from a trusted number, name or address.
- Substitute for Return
- A Substitute for Return (SFR) is a tax return the IRS files on your behalf when you have not filed, using only the income reported to it and no deductions or credits.
T
- Two-factor authentication
- Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a second check at login, usually a code from an app or a text, so that a stolen password alone is not enough to get in.
V
- Vishing
- Vishing is phishing by phone call: a caller impersonates a bank, government agency or family member to get money or account access.
- Voice cloning
- Voice cloning is the use of AI to reproduce a specific person's voice from a short audio sample, so that a scam call can sound like a family member.