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to scam

to scam

20 3.9
To trick someone into giving money or their things
  • verb
  • /skæm/
  • NSFW
translation icon : estafar
  • Rent's not due for a week, but I'll give it to you now so you don't think I'm trying to scam you.
  • try to scam
  • scam money
  • scam people

I kid you not, this is how people get scammed in real estate all the time.

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Examples

  • Did someone from another country try to scam you by offering you an obscene amount of money via email?

    Blog text (18)
  • You trying to scam somebody?

  • You tried to scam the wrong guy.

  • There are more ways to scam people online than ever before.

    Blog text (5)
  • Not only do they scam the clients, but also their own employees.

    Blog text (25)
  • Some vendors will try to scam you by getting you to use their own tracking system.

    Blog text (6)
  • If expanded, the legislation would help stop illicit contractors from attempting to scam residents out of their money.

    Blog text (6)
  • The con artist tried to scam the elderly couple out of their life savings.

  • He devised a clever scheme to scam unsuspecting tourists visiting the city.

  • Many people fall victim to online schemes that aim to scam them through fake investments.

Synonyms

to rip off
vsto scam
  • Informal
76 6.5

To cheat someone by charging too much money or selling fake goods

focuses more on deceptive gain than simply overcharging in trades
to con
vsto scam
  • Informal
61 7.3

To trick someone into giving their money or things

covers the same deceit but with a more general everyday tone
to defraud
vsto scam
  • Formal
40 6.9

To illegally get money or things from someone by lying

is used more broadly and may not always imply legal crime
to swindle
vsto scam
20 5.5

To cheat someone and take their money by lying

is a more general, often informal trick rather than formal fraud
to bamboozle
vsto scam
  • Informal
11 8.3

To trick someone by pretending you want to help them

is simpler and applies to many plain deceptive actions
to victimize
vsto scam
  • US
7 7.2

Trick someone to take their money or things

is narrower here, focusing on tricking rather than general harm
to con out of
vsto scam
  • Slang
6 8.1

To trick someone into giving you their money or other things

is broader and can include other dishonest methods beyond this act
to diddle
vsto scam
  • UK
6 8.9

To trick someone so you take their money or things

is more widely used and less dialectal than this term
to short-change
vsto scam
  • Informal
5 7.0

Give someone less money than they should get

is broader and covers many deceptive ways to take value
to rook
vsto scam
  • Archaic
3 9.9

To cheat someone and take their money or things

is the general modern term rather than this older variant
to flim-flam
vsto scam
  • Archaic
1 9.5

To trick someone by using clever talk

is the more common everyday label for the same deceitful act
to goldbrick
vsto scam
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To cheat someone out of money or things

is the broad casual term rather than this specific tricking sense
to hornswoggle
vsto scam
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To trick someone to take their money or things

is more widely used and less regionally marked than this word
to nobble
vsto scam
  • NSFW
1 9.9

Get money or goods from someone by tricking them

is the everyday term rather than this less common verb
to con someone
vsto scam
  • Slang
7.7

To trick someone to get their money

is similar but often used more casually in everyday speech
to mulct
vsto scam
  • NSFW
9.9

Cheat someone to get their money or things

is the common everyday sense rather than this more formal term
to bunco
vsto scam
  • Archaic
9.9

To cheat someone by lying to get their money

is the everyday label for such dishonest schemes rather than slang
to flimflam
vsto scam
  • Archaic
9.6

To trick someone by lying or cheating

is the typical word learners see for general deceptive cheating
to flimflammer
vsto scam
  • Offensive
9.9

To cheat someone using tricks or fake deals

is the standard informal term rather than this agent noun form
to chouse
vsto scam
9.9

To trick someone and take their money or things

is the common label rather than this less frequent synonym

Phrasal Verbs

to try to scam
  • Informal
5 5.8

Attempt to trick someone and take their money

Compounds

phishing scam
  • Texting
1 4.8

A fake email or message that tries to trick people into giving personal information like passwords and bank details

Uncle Scam
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who tricks people into giving their money

How Deceptive

to defraud
  • Formal
40 6.9
to swindle
20 5.5
to scam
  • NSFW
20 3.9
to cheat
474 1.2
to rip off
  • Informal
76 6.5

Surface Forms

scam infinitive
scammed past
scammed past participle
scamming present participle
scams third person singular

Etymology

Scam as a verb comes from the same slang idea of a 'trick' or 'fake' plan used to get money. So to scam someone is to use a 'fake' story or promise to cheat them out of their money.