: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation
an insurance scam
scammed; scamming; scams
1
: to deceive and defraud (someone)
… the law firm had got the lucrative job of defending the corporate head of a savings and loan that had scammed another thousand or so people out of their savings …—
Joseph Wambaugh
Joseph Wambaugh2
: to obtain (something, such as money) by a scam
A Boston hedge fund manager who scammed millions of dollars from friends, family and other investors in what authorities say was a Ponzi scheme has been sent to prison for more than 14 years.—The Worcester (Massachusetts) Telegram & Gazette
The Worcester (Massachusetts) Telegram & GazetteSynonyms
Examples of scam in a Sentence
Noun
She was the victim of an insurance scam.
a sophisticated credit card scam
Verb
The company scammed hundreds of people out of their life savings.
I could tell they were scamming you and charging too much.
They scammed a lot of money from unwary customers.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ron Shevlin, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 31 Dec. 2024
Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, 21 Nov. 2024
Bad actors have successfully weaponized this tech to scam people, generating legitimate-looking phishing emails and messages that are nearly impossible to detect.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for scam 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Roughly four in 10 Asian-Americans, Black or African-Americans, Hispanic or Latino people, and White people believe fraud, scams, and cybersecurity is the most important banking issue to be fixed.
—Ron Shevlin, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 31 Dec. 2024
Verb
The comments generated using AI would be shared on social media and appeared to be linked to scam activity.
—Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, 21 Nov. 2024
Bad actors have successfully weaponized this tech to scam people, generating legitimate-looking phishing emails and messages that are nearly impossible to detect.
—Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for scam
Dictionary Entries Near scam
Cite this Entry
“Scam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scam. Accessed 11 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share