Definition of scam
: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation
- an insurance scam
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Examples of scam in a Sentence
She was the victim of an insurance scam.
a sophisticated credit card scam
Recent Examples of scam from the Web
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More than 40,000 people in the United States reported being caught in those kinds of scams between October 2013 and May 2018, according to the statement.
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Previously, Opera indicated its awareness of cryptocurrency and the recent influx of scams by introducing anti-cryptojacking software in its web browsers.
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Hellmer said these kinds of scams can happen to anyone at any time of the year.
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That has also led to plenty of scams, and authorities throughout the world are starting to crack down.
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Georgia Power warns customers to be wary of the scams.
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Email is so top-heavy and not-fit-for-purpose that the system is drowning in spam, forged phishing mails, credential stealing, and any number of other scams and hacks.
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According to the government, the elderly lose as much as $3 billion a year to a variety of scams and financial abuse.
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One of the nation’s top consumer watchdogs is trying to put a stop to a series of alleged cryptocurrency scams that promised victims massive rewards for recruiting new members into the schemes.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'scam.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of scam
origin unknown
Definition of scam
scammed;
scamming
2
: to obtain (something, such as money) by a scam
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scammer
nounExamples of scam in a Sentence
The company scammed hundreds of people out of their life savings.
I could tell they were scamming you and charging too much.
They scammed a lot of money from unwary customers.
Recent Examples of scam from the Web
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Business Email Compromise scams proliferate because more business is being done online, officials said.
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Dow narrowly lost his re-election bid to council last fall, so he's been trying to scam his way back onto the public dole.
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In response, Panera Information Security Director Mike Gustavison accused Houlihan of trying to scam the company, according to screenshots of emails published by Houlihan in his blog post yesterday.
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These callers are often trying to scam us in some way.
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Or a pyramid scheme is like some entity that is intending to scam people by showing false returns that are based on new money coming in.
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General Complaint, Forest Drive: A man reported on Feb. 10 that someone tried to scam him and his Facebook friends by posing as him on Face Book Messenger.
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Assist person, Mayfield Road: At 10:25 a.m. Dec. 30, police received a report from Pet Taxi and Grooming Spa, 5351 Mayfield Road, that someone fraudulently used the business's address to scam a woman online.
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Often, these pros scam more than one person at a time.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'scam.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of scam
1963
SCAM Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of scam for English Language Learners
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: a dishonest way to make money by deceiving people
scam
Definition of scam for English Language Learners
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: to deceive and take money from (someone)
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: to get (something, such as money) by deceiving someone
Learn More about scam
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See words that rhyme with scam Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for scam Spanish Central: Translation of scam Nglish: Translation of scam for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of scam for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
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