Meaning & use
scams
Last updated
“scams” is a form of “scam”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Dishonest plans that trick people out of money or property.
Grammar: Plural of 'scam'; use with plural verbs, e.g. 'The scams were reported.'
Patterns
- be involved in scams
- fall for a scam
- report a scam
Police warned about online scams that target older people.
She lost her savings to several investment scams.
The company was fined for running scams on customers.
verbtransitive
Cheats someone to get money or something valuable.
Grammar: Takes an object: scam someone out of something.
Patterns
- scam someone out of something
- scam someone into doing something
He scammed me out of $500 with a fake charity.
They scammed tourists into buying worthless tickets.
Word forms
| third person singular | scams |
|---|---|
| past tense | scammed |
| past participle | scammed |
| -ing form | scamming |
Common combinations
- online scams
- Online scams are becoming more sophisticated.
- phone scam
- I got a phone scam claiming I owed taxes.
- insurance scam
- The accident was part of an insurance scam.
- fall for a scam
- Don't fall for a scam that asks for your password.
- report a scam
- You should report a scam to the police.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- scammer noun
- A person who carries out scams.
- scamming noun
- The act of cheating people.
Commonly confused: scams or scan? scams or spam?
scams vs scan
To look over quickly or use a machine; not the same as cheating.
scams vs spam
Unwanted email messages; not necessarily fraudulent.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
The correct pattern is 'scam someone out of something'. The other prepositions do not fit this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “scams”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.