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

The theft comes a few weeks after scammers stole more than 24 tons of artisanal cheese from one of Britain’s most famous dairy companies. —Jack Guy, CNN, 3 Dec. 2024

In 2023, check scammers stole $26.2 billion from Americans like you and me, right out of our mailboxes. —Kim Komando, Fox News, 2 Dec. 2024

Coinbase warns scammers will prey on your fear Fraudsters also use fear to ensnare victims. —Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 29 Nov. 2024

The scammers sometimes claim to have access to one's cellphone or webcams. —Quinn Clark, Journal Sentinel, 13 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above

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