Glossary

Cold calls:

Calls to your mobile or home phone number from people or organisations you don't know. 

They may try to sell you something, claiming to be from a government body, charity or software provider. They may also want you to take part in a survey or tell you you have won a competition, or they may threaten you with fake fines. They usually involve attempts to obtain money or other sensitive information about you.

ID Care:

A Queensland-based charity that helps victims of identity theft, backed by trustworthy University resources.

Phishing:

A fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by disguising oneself as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

Porting:

The transfer of a phone number between two telephone service providers.

Social Engineering:

In the context of information security it refers to psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. It involves tricking people for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or system access, and is often one of many steps in a more complex fraud scheme. Simply put - it is an act that influences a person to take any action that may or may not be in their best interests.

Telco:

Telephone company. Also providers of wider telecommunications services.

Two-factor Authentication (2FA)

A way of double-checking you’re the person you're claiming to be when you log into your online accounts - such as banking, email or social media.

If you log into an online account with a username and password, this is single-factor authentication; you only need one thing to verify you are whom you say you are.

With 2FA, you need to provide two things – your password and something else such as a code sent to your mobile device or your fingerprint – before you can access your account. Un-authorised phone porting allows criminals to intercept these messages and take control of your accounts. 

Verification codes:

A different term sometimes used to describe two-factor authentication, often involving a four-digit PIN.