1. deliberate deception, trickery, or cheating intended to gain an advantage. Usage : He was arrested for a fraud.
2. an act or instance of such deception. Usage : The hustlers were good at making up new frauds.
3. something false or spurious. Usage : His explanation was a fraud.
Swindle
1. To cheat or defraud of money or property.
2. To obtain by fraudulent means. Usage: John swindled money from the company.
Embezzlement
To take (money, for example) for one’s own use in violation of a trust.
Usage : He was jailed for six years for embezzlement of government funds.
Deceit
1. The act or practice of deceiving; deception.
2. A stratagem; a trick.
3. The quality of being deceitful; falseness.
Usage : She was too honest to be capable of deceit.
Except deceit and lying nothing could come of him now.
double-dealing
Duplicity or deceit; treachery.
Usage : Slimy, double-dealing politicians have betrayed us all.
Chicanery
Deception by trickery or sophistry.
Usage : The trial revealed a world of crime, corruption and political chicanery.
Scam
A fraudulent business scheme. A stratagem for gain.
Usage: The duo set up a scam to settle their respective debts.
Con
1. To swindle (a victim) by first winning his or her confidence; dupe.
2. person who plays the con is called a Conman.
Rip-off
1. A product or service that is overpriced or of poor quality.
2. A theft.
3. An act of exploitation.
Usage : Christmas shopping is a rip-off.
John was ripped-off in a money scam by a very cunning hustler.
Gyp
an act of cheating.
Usage : The cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change.
Bunco
A swindle in which an unsuspecting person is cheated; a confidence game.
Usage: Five thousand for a claim on that damned moose-pasture is bunco.
Hustle
1. To obtain something by deceitful or illicit means; practice theft or swindling.
2. To misrepresent one’s ability in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling.
Usage : John tried to hustle money from old ladies.
John, the car dealer tried to hustle us.
Grift
1. Money made dishonestly, as in a swindle.
2. A swindle or confidence game.
Usage : In his latest grift tale, John, the infamous hustler provides a delightful wild gambling tale that also provides a cautionary waning to those hooked by the glitter of internet and televised poker.
Confidence trickster , Con Man , Grifter , Hustler , Con artist , Scam artist
A person who swindles you by means of deception or fraud