scam

[ skam ]

noun

1. a confidence game or other fraudulent scheme, especially for making a quick profit; swindle.

verb (used with object)

, scammed, scam·ming.

1. to cheat or defraud with a scam.

scam

/ skæm /

noun

1. a stratagem for gain; a swindle

verb

1. tr to swindle (someone) by means of a trick

Other Words From

• scammer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of scam¹

1960–65; originally carnival argot; of obscure origin

Example Sentences

The demand for Glastonbury tickets inevitably attracts scam artists and fraudsters, who prey on people's desperation to separate them from their money.

From BBC

Trump once also called crypto a scam, but he changed his tune on the campaign trail this year, promising to make the US the “crypto capital of the planet”.

From BBC

Its price is rocketing because the president-elect has vowed to make the US "the crypto capital of the planet" - a remarkable turnaround given as recently as 2021 he was calling Bitcoin a "scam."

From BBC

The scam started when Mrs Campbell, from Bleasby in Nottinghamshire, responded to a fake TV licensing email and entered her credit card details.

From BBC

Felicity Campbell has been describing the moment she realised she had been caught in an elaborate scam by someone pretending to be from her bank.

From BBC

Related Words

• blackmail
• deceit
• deception
• extortion
• fraud
• hoax
• racket
• ripoff
• shakedown
• sham