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

Strauss sees the show, which follows Belle’s rise and fall after her lie is discovered, as a PSA about scammers in the wellness industry at a time when anti-vax sentiments and bogus COVID treatments became rampant at the height of the pandemic. —Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 6 Feb. 2025

Hackers and scammers must be close to you to use Bluetooth to hijack your phone. —Kim Komando, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2025

However, Maimon also points to one troubling video shared by Yahoo Boy scammers that appears to show a potential victim making a video to apologize for questioning the scammer’s fake identity. —Matt Burgess, WIRED, 27 Jan. 2025

Salt Lake City officials are warning residents that a texting scammer has been posing as the city's parking services provider. —Kim Bojórquez, Axios, 27 Jan. 2025

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