scam

noun

1. a confidence game or other fraudulent scheme, especially for making a quick profit; swindle.

verb (used with object), scammed, scam·ming.

2. to cheat or defraud with a scam.

noun

1. a stratagem for gain; a swindle

verb scams, scamming or scammed

2. (tr) to swindle (someone) by means of a trick

1963, noun and verb, U.S. slang, a carnival term, of unknown origin. Perhaps related to 19c. British slang scamp “cheater, swindler” (see scamp (n.)).