Synonyms of pyramid scheme

pyramid scheme

noun

as in Ponzi scheme

Related Words

• Ponzi scheme
• shell game
• cross
• racket
• con
• fix
• scam
• swindle
• thimblerig
• fraud
• rip-off
• sting
• scheme
• jig
• stratagem
• bunco
• fiddle
• three-card monte
• device
• flimflam
• dodge
• hustle
• ploy
• gouging
• soaking
• hoax
• forgery
• gimmick
• overcharging
• wile
• counterfeit
• sleight
• trick
• fake
• sham
• phony
• humbug

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pyramid scheme

There’s, in fact, a lot of narrative chaos in the movie’s last third, from a pyramid scheme that ruins Junyang’s professional ego to the fact that Lydia, once she’s given birth, is basically cut out of the picture. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Feb. 2026

Traffickers charge high fees and force victims to recruit friends and family in exchange for improved conditions, furthering a pyramid scheme model, Interpol said. — Ope Adetayo, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026

The North Texas couple behind a multimillion-dollar pyramid scheme who targeted the African-American community has been found guilty by a federal jury in Sherman. — Brian Womack, Dallas Morning News, 9 Jan. 2026

Chinese authorities have accused the group of being a pyramid scheme and a cult. — Didi Kirsten Tatlow, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025