- Account takeover
- Unauthorised control of an online account, often through stolen credentials, recovery access or an active session.
- Business email compromise
- Fraud that uses a real or convincingly imitated work mailbox to redirect payments or sensitive actions.
- Impersonation
- A person or system presenting as another identity, role or organisation.
- Independent channel
- A contact route found separately from the message being checked, such as a saved number or typed official website.
- Passkey
- A sign-in credential based on public-key cryptography and unlocked through a user's device or credential provider.
- Phishing
- An attempt to obtain access, information or action by posing as a trusted source.
- Provenance
- Information about where an item came from and how it has changed.
- Recourse
- A practical route to dispute, reverse or remedy a transaction or decision.
- SIM swap
- Transfer of control of a phone number to another SIM or eSIM.
- Social proof
- Evidence based on other people's behaviour or approval; useful in context, but open to manipulation.
See these terms applied to real decisions throughout the digital trust guide library.
Last reviewed
2026-10-08. See our corrections policy if something is unclear or wrong.