scam

play

noun \ ˈskam \

Definition of scam

:a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation

an insurance scam

See scam defined for English-language learners

See scam defined for kids

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

The woman recognized the call was a scam and did not send money or reveal personal information.

— kimberly fornek, chicagotribune.com, "Burr Ridge police blotter: Truck firm reports 30 tires stolen," 28 Aug. 2017
But don’t believe it, says consumer tech columnist Kim Komando. #Amazon Prime Day phishing scam spreading now!

— tom uhler, star-telegram, "Amazon Prime phishing scam alert," 24 Aug. 2017
KCP&L is warning customers to beware of an increase in phone scams involving utility bills.

— diane stafford, kansascity, "KCP&L warns customers about bill collection phone scams," 10 Aug. 2017
Variations of the scam continue to victimize people in the U.S. and other countries, according to federal prosecutors.

— blake nicholson, The Seattle Times, "Alleged mastermind of Jamaican lottery scam pleads guilty," 27 July 2017
Through trial and error, the con man has learned that a yellow safety vest, a baseball cap and a clipboard constitute an all-purpose disguise for real estate scams.

— marilyn stasio, New York Times, "Grifters, Swindlers and Chumps Headline the Latest in Crime," 21 July 2017
And in the U.S., the FBI says that romance scams, often perpetuated via dating sites, are the costliest internet crime for individuals.

— hannah seligson, Cosmopolitan, "Your Mobile Apps Are More Dangerous Than You Think," 15 July 2017
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced charges against 412 people for participating in a health-care scam totaling some $1.3 billion in false billings.

— elaine godfrey, The Atlantic, "The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Notre Don," 13 July 2017
Opportunist hackers are amateurs and professionals who spend hours a day running random scams on the Internet looking for unprotected home computers.

— Cincinnati.com, "Column: No rest from cybercriminals," 5 July 2017

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1963

See Words from the same year

scam Synonyms

Synonyms

bunco (or bunko), con, fiddle [chiefly British], flimflam, gyp, hustle, fraud, shell game, sting, swindle

Related Words

cross, fix; Ponzi scheme, pyramid scheme; racket, rip-off; thimblerig, three-card monte; device, dodge, gimmick, jig, ploy, scheme, sleight, stratagem, trick, wile; gouging, overcharging, soaking; counterfeit, fake, forgery, hoax, humbug, phony (also phoney), sham

scam

verb

Definition of scam

scammed; scamming

transitive verb

1 :deceive, defraud

2 :to obtain (something, such as money) by a scam

—

scammer

noun

See scam defined for English-language learners

Examples 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

By repealing Obama-era regulations, Republicans restored the right of corporations to abuse their workers without jeopardizing their access to federal contracts, and the freedom of financial advisers to scam their clients.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Labor Leaders Launch Tour to Turn Workers Against Trump," 21 Aug. 2017
Detectives said Sbeih-Maddox has continued to scam people on Facebook, even after the investigation was launched, according to court records.

— adam ferrise, cleveland.com, "Cleveland woman charged in $189,000 Facebook scam, 159 victims across U.S., Canada," 28 July 2017
Summertime is approaching and attempts to scam utility customers appear to be heating up.

— rob nikolewski, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Beware of scammers claiming to be from SDG&E," 12 June 2017
Rimasauskas used these fake documents to allegedly scam Google and Facebook out of tens of millions of dollars for parts and supplies over a two-year period, from 2013 to 2015.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Facebook and Google Scammed out of $100 Million," 28 Apr. 2017