grifters
Small-time con artists
Grifters are people who obtain money through swindles, fraud, or petty cons.
The term suggests small-scale operators rather than criminal masterminds—someone running a shell game, selling fake investment opportunities, or exploiting trust for quick profit.
The town attracted grifters looking for easy marks.
Politicians and salespeople sometimes get called grifters when their promises seem designed to enrich themselves at others' expense.
One feigning another's identity
- hustlerAggressive, unscrupulous earner
- scammerOne who defrauds others
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
- cheatAct dishonestly to win
trickster · deceiver · flimflammer · mountebank · phony · faker · shyster · sharper
Argument against
- scamDishonest money-making scheme
- swindleDeception for financial gain
- hustleEnergetic, aggressive action
- racketUproar, scam, or paddle
flimflam · shell game · confidence game · Ponzi scheme · long con · short con · bait and switch · three-card monte
Sly, scheming cleverness
- craftyCleverly deceptive
- slickSmooth or craftily adept
- wilySkilled at deception
- schemingCrafty and calculating
devious · calculating · shrewd · sly · smooth · manipulative · unscrupulous · predatory
Deceive through cunning
- hoodwinkTrick into false belief
- deceiveCause false belief
- fleeceWool still on sheep
- bilkDefraud of payment
dupe · defraud · fast-talk · smooth-talk · gaslight · manipulate · exploit · sweet-talk
impostor
One feigning another's identity
- hustlerAggressive, unscrupulous earner
- scammerOne who defrauds others
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
cheat · trickster · deceiver · flimflammer · mountebank · phony · faker · shyster · sharper · confidence man
con
Argument against
- scamDishonest money-making scheme
- swindleDeception for financial gain
- hustleEnergetic, aggressive action
racket · flimflam · shell game · confidence game · Ponzi scheme · long con · short con · bait and switch · three-card monte · shakedown
mark
Visible impression or sign
dupe · victim · easy mark · rube · chump · target · fall guy · gull · mug · sitting duck
cunning
Sly, scheming cleverness
scheming · devious · calculating · shrewd · sly · smooth · manipulative · unscrupulous · predatory · opportunistic
bamboozle
Deceive through cunning
bilk · dupe · defraud · fast-talk · smooth-talk · gaslight · manipulate · exploit · sweet-talk · string along
- deceiversliar, liars, deceiver, fraud, fake
- roguesrogue, rogues, scoundrel, scoundrels, rascal
- scamsscam, scams, fraud, frauds, swindle
- Con Artist Tropescon artists, deceivers, schemes, imposters, double-crosses
- carnivalparade, costume, float, ferris wheel, roller coaster
- predatorspredators, hunters, lions, falcon, fox
griftershonest brokers
Impartial third-party facilitators
straight shooters · truth-tellers · saints · altruists · philanthropists
griftersphilanthropists
Generous supporters of good causes
benefactors · givers · do-gooders · altruists · humanitarians