fraudsters
Deceivers for profit
Fraudsters are people who commit fraud—that is, they deceive others for financial gain or personal advantage.
The term carries strong negative connotations and implies deliberate, calculated dishonesty rather than mere mistake or carelessness.
The fraudsters posed as IRS agents and convinced elderly victims to wire them money.
Unlike the more clinical "perpetrators of fraud," fraudsters has a slightly informal, journalistic feel that emphasizes the person's character as much as their crime.
Petty swindlers, confidence tricksters
- hustlersThose who deceive for profit
- charlatansPretenders to special knowledge
- impostersThose feigning false identities
- swindlersDeceivers who steal through trickery
confidence trick · flimflam · marks · victims · snake oil · deception · manipulation · smooth talker
Fraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- Ponzi schemeFraudulent returns from newcomers
- money launderingDisguising criminal proceeds' origins
- insider tradingIllegal securities transactions using nonpublic information
- pyramid schemeFraud through endless recruitment
Bernie Madoff · white-collar · forgery · shell companies · offshore accounts · tax evasion · Enron · counterfeit
Fraudulent credential harvesting
- hackersUnauthorized computer system intruders
- identity theftStealing personal data criminally
- scammersPeople who defraud others
- malwareHarmful computer programs
ransomware · spoofing · data breach · catfishing · Nigerian prince · romance scam · cryptocurrency · dark web
Advanced in age
- vulnerableOpen to attack
- life savingsTotal accumulated personal wealth
- financial ruinComplete loss of wealth
- trustConfidence in another
betrayal · recovery · reporting · restitution · emotional trauma · targeting · exploitation · warnings
Formal examination of facts
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- FBIU.S. domestic intelligence agency
- InterpolGlobal police cooperation organization
- arrestSeize by law
indictment · conviction · sentencing · prison · extradition · whistleblower · evidence · forensic accounting
grifters
Petty swindlers, confidence tricksters
- hustlersThose who deceive for profit
- charlatansPretenders to special knowledge
- impostersThose feigning false identities
swindlers · confidence trick · flimflam · marks · victims · snake oil · deception · manipulation · smooth talker · disguise
embezzlement
Fraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- Ponzi schemeFraudulent returns from newcomers
- money launderingDisguising criminal proceeds' origins
- insider tradingIllegal securities transactions using nonpublic information
Bernie Madoff · pyramid scheme · white-collar · forgery · shell companies · offshore accounts · tax evasion · Enron · counterfeit · investment scam
phishing
Fraudulent credential harvesting
- hackersUnauthorized computer system intruders
- identity theftStealing personal data criminally
- scammersPeople who defraud others
malware · ransomware · spoofing · data breach · catfishing · Nigerian prince · romance scam · cryptocurrency · dark web · botnets
elderly
Advanced in age
- vulnerableOpen to attack
- life savingsTotal accumulated personal wealth
- financial ruinComplete loss of wealth
trust · betrayal · recovery · reporting · restitution · emotional trauma · targeting · exploitation · warnings · awareness
investigation
Formal examination of facts
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- FBIU.S. domestic intelligence agency
- InterpolGlobal police cooperation organization
arrest · indictment · conviction · sentencing · prison · extradition · whistleblower · evidence · forensic accounting · asset seizure
- deceiversliar, liars, deceiver, fake, fakes
- DanteDivine Comedy, Inferno, Dante, Paradiso, Beatrice
- scamsscam, scams, swindle, swindles, con
- infringerspirates, plagiarists, counterfeiters, bootleggers, forgers
- doublesdouble, doubles, twin, twins, duplicate
- outcastsoutcast, pariah, pariahs, outcasts, outlaws
fraudstersfraud investigators
Professionals who expose deception
law enforcement · prosecutors · regulators · detectives · whistleblowers
fraudstersvictims
Those who suffer harm
protectors · guardians · defenders · advocates · benefactors