scammer

noun

scam·​mer ˈska-mər 

plural scammers

: one who perpetrates a scam : a person who commits or participates in a fraudulent scheme or operation

insurance/credit card scammers

The company will not call you to ask for your Social Security or account number, but nefarious scammers might.

—Ellen Marks

Now that most people are alert to suspicious e-mails and phony phone calls, text messages are the new frontier for scammers out to con you.

—Consumer Reports

Synonyms

• bilk
• bilker
• cheat
• cheater
• chiseler
• chiseller
• confidence man
• cozener
• defrauder
• dodger
• fakir
• finagler
• fraudster [chiefly British]
• hoaxer
• scamster
• shark
• sharper
• sharpie
• sharpy
• skinner
• swindler
• tricker
• trickster

Examples of scammer in a Sentence

Internet scammers who never seem to run out of swindles

Recent Examples on the Web

When an unsuspecting customer tries to purchase a gift card that has been tampered with, the money is diverted to scammers instead of being loaded onto the card. —Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 June 2025

Around 100 people were approached by the scammer, whose name, bank details and bank address we and writer Anette Martinsen linked to a person called Agnieszka Falkowska. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 June 2025

What To Know Officials said the scammers threatened their victims with a license suspension, registration revocation, or further legal action. —Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025

But the cleverness of the hook, the trickery of the scammer still works. —Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for scammer

• amor
• clamor
• clamour
• glamor
• glamour
• grammar
• hammer
• jammer
• rammer
• stammer
• programmer
• sledgehammer

Kids Definition

scammer

noun

scam·​mer

ˈskam-ər

: someone who perpetuates a scam : a person who commits or participates in a fraudulent scheme or operation