Is a scam in which a perpetrator attempts to obtain your personal and financial information?

Answer 1

Phishing is one. That is when someone pretends to be a trusted party to trick you into giving them your information. They will claim to be your bank or the federal government, hoping you will believe them. They often include links in their emails that claim to be one place but which take you elsewhere, or their links are dangerously close in appearance to the real ones. This is usually an online scam, but it can happen by snail mail, telephone, or in person as well. In those contexts, the term used is "social engineering." A hacker could show up at your workplace wearing your company's uniform and claiming to need certain information. Since you assume they work for your company, you might trust them enough to give them the information. They could call you and say they work in the security department of your company and that they need your password to watch you log in and help them spot a problem.

A 419 scam ("Nigerian scam") can also be used to get personal information. They tell you that they are giving you money and need your information to send it to you. They claim that a relative of theirs died and that they are getting a bunch of money. They say all you have to do is give them details to put the money in your account and then send all but your cut of the deal back. The only thing is that they mail you a bad check. Then you cash it and send them most. By the time you or the bank realizes it was bad, it is way too late. They may even try to assume your identity.