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 of scammer

• cheat
• dodger
• shark
• swindler

Examples of scammer in a Sentence

Internet scammers who never seem to run out of swindles

Recent Examples on the Web

Can consumers participate online without falling prey to scammers? — Jon M. Huntsman, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2026

The warning explains that scammers sometimes persuade people to paste commands that can compromise their Mac or privacy. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2026

The city’s news release states that many of the details the scammers are using to make their invoices appear legitimate come from publicly available information and that similar schemes have been reported in other areas. — Michelle Marchante september 23, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026

However, there are also scammers looking to take advantage of consumers in financial straits. — Dan Avery, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026

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