You’ve probably heard some of these words thrown around on the news, in your email, maybe even from your grandkids. Phishing. Smishing. Deepfakes. Pig butchering.
Sounds like nonsense, right?
It’s not. Every single one of these words represents a real trick that real scammers are using right now – on real people, including people you love.
Here’s the thing about scammers. They’re creative. Give them that much. Over the years they’ve developed so many different ways to come at us that the cybersecurity world had to start naming them just to keep track. Some of those names are clever. Some are bizarre. And at least one of them involves a pig.
That’s where Grammy’s Scamcabulary™ 101 comes in.
This is your plain-English guide to the language of online scams. No tech degree required. No jargon. Just straight talk about what these things are, how they work, and why you need to know about them.
Bookmark this page. Share it with someone you care about. And the next time someone mentions smishing or quishing or pharming, you’ll know exactly what they’re talking about. More importantly, you’ll know what to do about it.
Knowledge is power, friends. Let’s get you some.
New scam types are added as they emerge. Last updated: May 2026.
📧 = Email-based · 📱 = Phone/Text-based · 🌐 = Web/Browser-based · 💬 = Social Media-based · 🤖 = AI/Tech-enabled · ❤️ = Relationship-based · 💰 = Financial/Investment-based
A
Angler Phishing 💬
You post on Facebook or X that you’re having a problem with your bank or a company you use. Within minutes, someone replies pretending to be that company’s customer service team and offering to help. They’re not customer service. They’re a scammer who monitors social media specifically looking for frustrated customers to exploit. Never share personal information or click links from someone who reaches out to you in response to a complaint. If you need help, go directly to the company’s official website.
C
Clone Phishing 📧
Scammers take a real, legitimate email you’ve actually received from your bank, Amazon, or your doctor’s office and make an almost identical copy of it. Same logo, same formatting, same friendly tone. The only difference is that the links inside now point somewhere dangerous. It can be nearly impossible to tell the difference at a glance, which is exactly why they do it. When in doubt, don’t click links in emails. Go directly to the website instead.
D
Deepfake Impersonation 🤖
Artificial intelligence can now create incredibly convincing fake videos and audio recordings of real people. Celebrities, politicians, even your own family members. Scammers use this technology to make it look and sound like someone you trust is endorsing a product, asking for money, or delivering urgent news. If you see a video of a famous person promoting an investment opportunity or asking for gift cards, be very suspicious. Real celebrities don’t do that.
E
Evil Twin Phishing 🌐
You’re at a coffee shop, an airport, a hotel. You connect to what looks like the free WiFi. What you’ve actually connected to is a fake network set up by a nearby scammer specifically to intercept everything you do online. Passwords, bank logins, personal information. The network name looks almost identical to the real one. Always confirm the exact WiFi network name with a staff member before connecting, and avoid accessing sensitive accounts on public WiFi whenever possible.
G
Grandparent Scams 📱
This one makes my blood boil. A scammer calls an older adult pretending to be a grandchild in trouble. Arrested, in an accident, stranded somewhere. They beg for money to be sent immediately and often coach their victims to keep it secret from other family members. “Don’t tell Mom, she’ll worry.” Before you send a single dollar, hang up and call your grandchild directly on the number you already have. Every single time.
I
Imposter Scams 📱 🌐
Someone contacts you pretending to be the IRS, Social Security Administration, Medicare, your bank, or even law enforcement. They tell you there’s a problem. Unpaid taxes, a suspended account, a warrant for your arrest. And they tell you that you need to act immediately. The urgency is the weapon. The IRS does not call you. Social Security does not suspend your number. Law enforcement does not demand gift cards. Hang up and call the agency directly using a number from their official website.
L
Lottery and Prize Scams 📧 📱
Congratulations, you’ve won! All you have to do to claim your prize is pay a small processing fee, provide your bank information, or verify your identity with your Social Security number. Here’s the truth: if you have to pay to receive a prize, it isn’t a prize. It’s a trap. Legitimate sweepstakes and lotteries do not require winners to pay fees upfront. Ever.
P
Pharming 🌐
You type your bank’s web address correctly, every single letter, and still end up on a fake website designed to steal your login information. Pharming attacks tamper with the behind-the-scenes system that translates web addresses into actual websites, redirecting you without your knowledge. Signs you may be on a fake site include a slightly different URL, a missing security padlock, or a page that just looks slightly off. Trust your instincts and look carefully before entering any passwords.
Phishing 📧 🌐
The granddaddy of online scams and the word that spawned an entire family of similarly named cousins. Phishing is when a scammer sends you an email pretending to be someone you trust. Your bank, Amazon, PayPal, the post office. The email contains a link designed to steal your personal information or install something nasty on your device. The word comes from “fishing.” They’re casting a wide net hoping someone bites. Don’t be the fish.
Pig Butchering 💰 ❤️
The name sounds strange. The scam is devastating. A scammer builds a relationship with you over weeks or even months, sometimes romantic and sometimes just friendly, gradually earning your trust before introducing you to a “can’t miss” investment opportunity, usually involving cryptocurrency. Once you’ve invested a significant amount, they vanish. The name refers to the practice of fattening up a pig before slaughter. Victims lose tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of dollars. If someone you’ve only met online starts talking investments, stop.
Pretexting 📱 💬
A scammer invents a believable story, called a pretext, to manipulate you into handing over information or money. They might claim to be from your bank’s fraud department, a government agency, or even a coworker needing urgent help. What makes pretexting effective is the preparation. These scammers often know details about you before they call, which makes them sound legitimate. Personal information shared on social media frequently fuels these attacks. The more private you keep your life online, the harder you are to target.
Q
Quishing 📱 🌐
QR codes are everywhere now. Restaurant menus, parking meters, flyers, package deliveries. Quishing is phishing via QR code. Scammers place fake QR codes, sometimes right on top of legitimate ones, that direct you to dangerous websites designed to steal your information. Before scanning any QR code in a public place, take a close look at it. If it’s a sticker placed over something else, don’t scan it. When possible, type the web address directly instead.
R
Romance Scams ❤️ 💰
Someone finds you on a dating app or social media. They’re attractive, attentive, and almost too good to be true. The relationship moves quickly. They say all the right things. And then, inevitably, comes the crisis. A medical emergency, a business deal gone wrong, a plane ticket they can’t afford. They’ve never asked for anything before, and they’re so embarrassed to ask now. Romance scams cost Americans hundreds of millions of dollars every year, and the emotional damage goes far beyond money. If someone you’ve never met in person asks you for money, the answer is no.
S
SEO Poisoning 🌐
You Google something, maybe a customer service phone number, a software download, or a local business, and click one of the top results. But scammers have deliberately engineered fake websites to rank highly in search results, knowing that people trust what appears at the top. The website looks legitimate. The phone number connects you to a scammer. The software download contains malware. Always double-check that you’re on an official website before calling a number or downloading anything found through a search engine.
Sextortion 🤖 💬
A scammer contacts you claiming to have compromising photos or videos of you. Sometimes they’re real. Sometimes they’re completely fabricated. They threaten to send them to your family, friends, or employer unless you pay. With the rise of AI, scammers can now create fake explicit images using nothing but photos from your public social media profiles. This is a crime. Do not pay. Paying only encourages more demands. Report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
SIM Swapping 📱
Your phone number is more valuable than you might think. In a SIM swap, a scammer convinces your mobile carrier, through trickery or stolen personal information, to transfer your phone number to a SIM card they control. Suddenly your phone goes dead and they have access to every text message sent to your number, including the two-factor authentication codes that protect your bank accounts and email. Contact your carrier immediately if your phone unexpectedly loses service, and ask about adding extra security to your account.
Smishing 📱
Phishing via text message. You get a text that looks like it’s from your bank, the post office, Amazon, or a government agency. There’s a link. There’s urgency. There’s a problem that needs your immediate attention. The link leads somewhere dangerous. Banks and legitimate companies will almost never ask you to click a link in a text message to resolve an account issue. When in doubt, go directly to the company’s app or website instead of tapping that link.
Spear Phishing 📧
Regular phishing casts a wide net. Spear phishing takes aim at you specifically. Scammers research their targets, often using information gathered from social media, and craft personalized messages that reference your name, your employer, your recent purchases, or people you actually know. Because it feels personal and familiar, it’s far more convincing than a generic scam email. The more information you share publicly online, the easier you are to target.
T
Tech Support Scams 🌐 📱 🤖
A pop-up appears on your screen warning that your computer has a virus. Call this number immediately or your files will be lost. Or maybe someone calls you claiming to be from Microsoft or Apple, saying they’ve detected a problem with your device and they want remote access to fix it. There is no virus. There is no problem. There is only a scammer trying to get into your computer or your wallet. Microsoft and Apple do not call you unsolicited. Close the pop-up and move on.
V
Vishing 📱
Voice phishing, delivered by phone call. A real human voice, or an increasingly convincing AI-generated one, calls to tell you there’s a problem with your Social Security number, your bank account, your Amazon order, or your taxes. The call is designed to frighten you into acting quickly without thinking. Hang up. Look up the organization’s official number independently and call them back yourself if you’re genuinely concerned.
Think you’ve got it down? Head over to AskGrammy.com/amiright and put yourself to the test.
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