Ponzi scheme, for one

The answer

SCAM

4 letters. See every clue for this answer on the SCAM answer page.

Used 8 times across 8 distinct years; most recently in 2022; first recorded in 2002. It appears in 6 publications in the xd corpus. Frequency and last-seen figures come from the xd crossword corpus only.

Other clues for SCAM

Every other clue in this collection answered by SCAM, most used first.

• Con game - used 225 times, most recently in 2026
• Swindle - used 129 times, most recently in 2026
• Con job - used 72 times, most recently in 2026
• Racket - used 53 times, most recently in 2026
• Con - used 39 times, most recently in 2026
• Rip-off - used 39 times, most recently in 2026
• Ponzi scheme, e.g. - used 34 times, most recently in 2026
• Ponzi scheme - used 32 times, most recently in 2023
• Shell game - used 32 times, most recently in 2019
• Confidence game - used 27 times, most recently in 2026
• Fraudulent scheme - used 27 times, most recently in 2026
• Hustle - used 22 times, most recently in 2025
• Ripoff - used 22 times, most recently in 2022
• Hoodwink - used 21 times, most recently in 2026
• Fraud - used 20 times, most recently in 2026
• Sting - used 16 times, most recently in 2003
• Bamboozle - used 15 times, most recently in 2026
• Grifter's game - used 15 times, most recently in 2025
• Phony deal - used 14 times, most recently in 2025
• Flimflam - used 13 times, most recently in 2024
• Fraudulent operation - used 13 times, most recently in 2026
• Shady deal - used 13 times, most recently in 2024
• Shell game, e.g. - used 13 times, most recently in 2019
• Fleece - used 12 times, most recently in 2019
• Take for a ride - used 12 times, most recently in 2022
• Three-card monte, e.g. - used 12 times, most recently in 2025
• Defraud - used 11 times, most recently in 2023
• Dishonest scheme - used 11 times, most recently in 2026
• Phishing, e.g. - used 11 times, most recently in 2024
• Pyramid scheme, e.g. - used 11 times, most recently in 2026
• Bogus offer - used 10 times, most recently in 2024
• Cheat - used 10 times, most recently in 2014
• Crooked deal - used 10 times, most recently in 2026
• Grifter's specialty - used 10 times, most recently in 2024
• Shady scheme - used 9 times, most recently in 2026
• Con artist's game - used 8 times, most recently in 2020
• Con man's con - used 8 times, most recently in 2024
• Fraudulent offer - used 8 times, most recently in 2026
• Pyramid scheme, for one - used 8 times, most recently in 2019
• Fast one - used 7 times, most recently in 2023
• Money-losing proposition - used 7 times, most recently in 2019
• Phishing email, e.g. - used 7 times, most recently in 2026
• Sucker play - used 7 times, most recently in 2014
• Act of fraud - used 6 times, most recently in 2010
• Deception - used 6 times, most recently in 2023
• Fraudulent deal - used 6 times, most recently in 2023
• Pyramid scheme - used 6 times, most recently in 2024
• Swindler's scheme - used 6 times, most recently in 2026
• Telemarketing danger - used 6 times, most recently in 2009
• Too-good-to-be-true offer - used 6 times, most recently in 2026

Related clues

Clues in this collection of the same answer length that share a word with this clue, or match its answer pattern when no word is shared. Most used first.

• For fear that - LEST, used 503 times
• Change for a five - ONES, used 272 times
• "What's ___ for me?" - INIT, used 264 times
• One of the Great Lakes - ERIE, used 258 times
• Shrek, for one - OGRE, used 244 times
• Ready for business - OPEN, used 184 times

Search the clue collection

Search by clue words or by answer, or type a pattern with the letters you have and a blank for each square you do not know. The characters _ ? . and - all work as blanks.