: 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 & GazetteExamples 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
Anne Marie D. Lee, CBS News, 30 June 2025
The move would block laws on the books in more than 20 states, including those covering AI scams, election misinformation and explicit deepfake images of children.
—Jay O'Brien, ABC News, 30 June 2025
Cezary Podkul, ProPublica, 25 June 2025
Cybercriminals are always upgrading their tools, especially malware, to find new ways to scam people and steal data or money.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for scam
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Noun
Dating apps, including Tinder, are fertile ground for scams, according to various consumer protection sources including the FBI and Federal Trade Commission.
—Anne Marie D. Lee, CBS News, 30 June 2025
The move would block laws on the books in more than 20 states, including those covering AI scams, election misinformation and explicit deepfake images of children.
—Jay O'Brien, ABC News, 30 June 2025
Verb
The destination was a bank account in the Bahamas controlled by Li and others, who converted the funds into cryptocurrency for their journey to scam centers located overseas, including in Sihanoukville.
—Cezary Podkul, ProPublica, 25 June 2025
Cybercriminals are always upgrading their tools, especially malware, to find new ways to scam people and steal data or money.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for scam
Cite this Entry
“Scam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scam. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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