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

Installing unknown programs can introduce malware or give scammers a way to steal your personal information. 4. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 30 Apr. 2025

The digital marketing expert stressed that getting swindled by scammers isn’t just a niche concern. —Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025

From making medical appointments to viewing videos of grandchildren, everything is online, including fraudsters and scammers. —PC Magazine, 25 Apr. 2025

In the example outlined in the memo, the taxpayer was contacted by a scammer who claimed to have kidnapped the taxpayer's grandson for ransom. —Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 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