What does "scam" mean?

1. (a fraudulent scheme) a dishonest trick or plan used to steal money from someone. 2. (to trick someone) to trick someone so you can take their money or property.

scam

n. · v.

US //ˈskæm// UK //skˈæm// scam

1 a fraudulent scheme (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

a dishonest trick or plan used to steal money from someone.

a fraudulent business scheme or deceptive operation intended to defraud individuals of money or assets.

Example

The email was a scam designed to steal my bank account details.

Example

The authorities warned citizens about a sophisticated phone scam where callers impersonate tax officials to demand immediate payment via gift cards.
- fraud
- swindle
- con
2 to trick someone (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

to trick someone so you can take their money or property.

to defraud a person or organisation through a deceptive scheme; functions as a transitive verb taking the victim as the object.

Example

He tried to scam me by selling a fake ticket to the concert.

Example

The rogue contractor scammed several elderly homeowners out of their savings by claiming their roofs required urgent, non-existent repairs.
- defraud
- cheat
- swindle

Origin

US American carnival slang of uncertain origin. Possibly from scamp (“swindler, cheater”) or Irish cam (“crooked”). Also possibly from Danish skam; if so, it would be a doublet of shame and sham. First use appears c. 1963 in the periodical Time. The word became common use among the US drug culture when in early 1980, after Operation ABSCAM, an FBI sting operation directed at public officials, became public.