Attacks & Threats
Romance Scam
Also known as: Sweetheart scam, Confidence fraud, Pig butchering
Definition
A long-running social-engineering fraud in which an attacker builds a fake romantic relationship with a victim and then exploits that trust to extract money, gifts, or sensitive information.
Examples
- A months-long online relationship ending with urgent crypto-wallet "investments" that vanish.
- A fake overseas partner asking for repeated gift-card payments to cover an imaginary emergency.
Related terms
Social Engineering
The psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or disclosing confidential information that benefits an attacker.
Pretexting
A social-engineering technique in which an attacker invents a believable scenario or identity to manipulate a target into disclosing information or performing an action.
Phishing
A social-engineering attack in which an attacker impersonates a trusted party to trick a victim into revealing credentials, transferring money, or running malware.
Vishing
Phishing conducted over voice channels — phone calls or VoIP — to manipulate victims into revealing credentials, payments, or remote access.
Tech Support Scam
A fraud in which attackers pose as technical support agents from a well-known vendor to convince victims to install remote-access tools, hand over credentials, or pay for fake services.
Business Email Compromise
A targeted fraud in which an attacker impersonates or takes over a corporate mailbox to trick an employee into wiring money, changing payment details, or sending sensitive data.