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F‑Secure Scam Encyclopedia

A structured reference for understanding how online scams work.

50+

scams in 8 categories

50+

scam indicators

Built from open‑source threat intelligence, the F‑Secure Scam Encyclopedia helps you look beyond individual online scams to recognize the patterns behind them. While their surface details change constantly, the underlying mechanics rarely do.

A victim‑centered approach to understanding scams

Traditional scam taxonomies often classify attacks according to the technologies involved or the methods used. But these classifications don't necessarily reflect how victims experience scams.

The F‑Secure Scam Encyclopedia takes a different approach. Each entry begins with what the victim was misled to believe was happening, before examining the mechanisms behind the deception. By placing the victim's perspective at the center, the encyclopedia aims to capture the experience of being scammed more accurately while revealing patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.

  • Scams

    A catalog of the major scam categories, from fake investments and bogus job offers to prize, debt, romance, and charity fraud, each broken down by how it lures, deceives, and extracts money.

  • Scam Indicators

    The concrete warning signs that expose a scam, grouped by criminal technique, impersonation, psychological pressure, and targeting method.

  • Scam Templates

    The reusable playbooks scammers use, from mass email and SMS sprays to telephone scripts, pre‑recorded audio and video, and the misuse of legitimate software.

Definitions

  • For this work, we define a scam as online criminal deception for financial gain.
  • A victim is an individual consumer or household. Scams that only target or exploit employers, businesses, or online platforms, to the exclusion of individual consumers, are out of scope.
  • A scammer or fraudster is the person or group carrying out or benefiting from the deception for financial gain. Sometimes called a perpetrator in law enforcement contexts.
  • The online portion of the definition means scams that happen offline (in person/IRL/brick-and-mortar) are out of scope. Online means the scam must leverage the internet, which could include applications, platforms, advertising, and so on. Scams that are telephonic, digital, or electronic (e.g. telephone scams like slamming and cramming) but not online are also out of scope.
  • Deception includes lying, making someone believe a falsehood, convincing someone that an untrue thing is true. The deceiver knows the lie is a lie, but the victim does not.
  • Financial gain can be direct and immediate, such as when a scammer steals money from a victim (theft). It can also be indirect, such as when stolen data is sold to a third party for profit or a stolen social media account is used to promote another scam.