the.com/scam
a con so confident you almost thank it for the lesson.
means A dishonest scheme designed to cheat people out of money or trust, usually dressed up as a good deal.
from A 19th-century slang word of uncertain origin — it surfaces in English without a clear pedigree, possibly tied to old dialect 'scamp,' meaning a swindler or rogue who roamed about cheating folks. The trail genuinely goes cold, which is fitting for a word about people who'd rather you didn't look too closely.
- word origin
- Carnival slang from the 1960s, parent of scammer
- oldest trick
- Spanish Prisoner con dates to the 1580s
- 419 number
- Nigerian fraud named after a penal code
- sunk cost
- victims pay more believing they're almost there
- yearly toll
- global scams steal over a trillion dollars
bernie madoff ponzi scheme — investor swindled $65 billion from 4,800+ clients over 17 years until 2008 arrest
theranos elizabeth holmes — blood-testing startup claimed false technology, valued at $9 billion in 2013 before collapse
nigerian prince emails — mass phishing campaign since 1990s claiming to transfer millions if victims send upfront fees