Definition of SCAM

Examples of scam in a Sentence

Noun She was the victim of an insurance scam. a sophisticated credit card scam Verb 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 on the Web: Noun As did Aunt Becky actress Lori Loughlin, who is currently awaiting trial for her alleged involvement in the college admissions scam. — Jodi Guglielmi, PEOPLE.com, "Candace Cameron Bure Cries over Fuller House Final Season: It's a 'Grieving Process'," 8 Nov. 2019 The president of the jewelry company, Unique Gems International Corp., was later sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding 16,000 people in a $90 million scam. — BostonGlobe.com, "Flamboyant Puerto Rican astrologer Walter Mercado dies at 88 - The Boston Globe," 4 Nov. 2019 The president of the jewelry company, Unique Gems International Corp., was later sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding 16,000 people in a $90 million scam. — Dánica Coto, USA TODAY, "'Mucho, mucho amor': Puerto Rican astrologer, TV personality Walter Mercado dies at 87," 3 Nov. 2019 The president of the jewelry company, Unique Gems International Corp., was later sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding 16,000 people in a $90 million scam. — CBS News, "Walter Mercado, famed Puerto Rican astrologer, has died at 87," 3 Nov. 2019 The president of the jewelry company, Unique Gems International Corp., was later sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding 16,000 people in a $90 million scam. — chicagotribune.com, "Walter Mercado, a flamboyant astrologer and TV star popular across Latin America, dies at 88," 3 Nov. 2019 The president of the jewelry company, Unique Gems International, was later sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding 16,000 people in a $90 million scam. — Dánica Coto, Washington Post, "Walter Mercado, flamboyant Puerto Rican astrologer, dies," 3 Nov. 2019 Bizzack was not among the initial arrest of 33 parents in the college admissions scam in March. — Eric Levenson, CNN, "Former surfing executive sentenced to 2 months in prison for college admissions scam," 30 Oct. 2019 Desperate Housewives actress Felicity Huffman has been released from prison after serving just 11 days of her 14-day sentence following her involvement in the the Operation Varsity Blues college-admissions scam, CNN reports. — Emma Specter, Vogue, "Felicity Huffman Has Been Released From Prison Early," 25 Oct. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Police said a caller attempted to scam a resident out of several thousand dollars by claiming to be his grandson. — Pioneer Press Staff, chicagotribune.com, "Morton Grove police: Caller attempts to scam man out of thousands of dollars," 14 Oct. 2019 After looking at the texts, the officer determined that they were being sent from someone trying to scam the man out of $700. — John Benson, cleveland, "Resident threatened by scam artist’s texts: Strongsville Police Blotter," 9 Oct. 2019 In Identity Theft of a Cheerleader, Vicky scams her way to cheer captain by causing the actual captain to slip and injure herself. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "Cheerleader Movies Are Big Business for Lifetime," 10 Sep. 2019 Some elaborate romance scams that take advantage of Bitcoin’s untraceable nature. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Scam Diego: why a new wave of scams has your number," 25 Aug. 2019 The Warrensville Heights man, 29, became upset and began cursing at the manager, who believed the man was trying to scam the store out of money. — cleveland.com, "Four boys steal BB guns, flee from officers: Mayfield Heights Police Blotter," 17 July 2019 The bipartisan Stopping Bad Robocalls Act would outlaw a slate of methods fraudsters use to scam consumers over the phone and through text. — Makena Kelly, The Verge, "A new anti-robocalling bill is headed to the House floor," 17 July 2019 Lopez starting getting positive feedback about the movie and her role as Ramona, who scams Wall Street clients with the help of her girls, after the movie's recent premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. — Marianne Garvey, CNN, "Jennifer Lopez gets emotional hearing 'Hustlers' Oscars buzz," 11 Sep. 2019 But, outside its relevant social commentary about suburban decay, On Becoming a God in Central Florida beats with a wicked streak humor, as Krystal begins to scam her way through the ranks of the illicit operation in increasingly bonkers ways. — Ew Staff, EW.com, "What to Watch this weekend: More deaths and drama — get ready to binge 13 Reasons Why," 23 Aug. 2019

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.