: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation
an insurance scam
scammed; scamming; scams
1
: to deceive and defraud (someone)
… the law firm had got the lucrative job of defending the corporate head of a savings and loan that had scammed another thousand or so people out of their savings …—
Joseph Wambaugh
Joseph Wambaugh2
: to obtain (something, such as money) by a scam
A Boston hedge fund manager who scammed millions of dollars from friends, family and other investors in what authorities say was a Ponzi scheme has been sent to prison for more than 14 years.—The Worcester (Massachusetts) Telegram & Gazette
The Worcester (Massachusetts) Telegram & GazetteSynonyms
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 WebBetty Lin-Fisher, USA TODAY, 6 Sep. 2024
Consumers can take a number of steps to prevent themselves from becoming victims to these scams.
—Anna Gordon, TIME, 4 Sep. 2024
Emma Woollacott, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2024
Enable competitive offerings adapted to consumer needs and preferences
Consumer advocates in Europe are pushing for regulations that would allow streaming service customers to scam a bit, according to McCoy.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 2 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for scam 
Noun
Here's how one senior fell for the growing gift card scam, FastCompany reports.
—Betty Lin-Fisher, USA TODAY, 6 Sep. 2024
Consumers can take a number of steps to prevent themselves from becoming victims to these scams.
—Anna Gordon, TIME, 4 Sep. 2024
Verb
The posts, obviously, are designed to scam people into buying a useless device.
—Emma Woollacott, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2024
Enable competitive offerings adapted to consumer needs and preferences
Consumer advocates in Europe are pushing for regulations that would allow streaming service customers to scam a bit, according to McCoy.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 2 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for scam
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scam.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near scam
Cite this Entry
“Scam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scam. Accessed 20 Sep. 2024.
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