Fraud & Swindle: English Vocabulary List

a flashy or impressive event that lacks substance or meaning

"A dog and pony show."

"The politician's elaborate presentation turned out to be a mere dog and pony show, with no real solutions offered."

a person who lends money to people, typically under illegal conditions, at a very high rate of interest

"A loan shark charges high interest."

"The desperate businessman borrowed money from a loan shark who charged an extremely high interest rate."

the action of taking goods from a store without paying for them

"A five-finger discount."

"The security guard caught the teenager attempting to get a five-finger discount on a new video game."

any activity or behavior that is considered suspicious, dishonest, or deceptive, often intended to deceive or cheat others

"Stop the funny business."

"The detective suspected funny business when the suspect's alibi seemed too perfect and suspiciously fabricated."

the use of misleading accounting methods to present a company's financial position in a more favorable light

"Creative accounting."

"The auditors discovered that the company had been using creative accounting to hide its significant financial losses."

the process of concealing the origins, ownership, or destination of illegally obtained money by passing it through a legitimate financial institution or businesses

"Money laundering is a serious crime."

"Money laundering is a criminal scheme to disguise the illegal origin of cash by passing it through a complex sequence of legitimate banking transfers and businesses."

the act or practice of engaging in unethical or questionable business practices that are intended to gain an advantage over competitors or deceive customers

"Sharp practice."

"Selling expired goods at full price is a clear example of sharp practice that should be reported."

money that is offered to someone so that they do not share a piece of information or a secret with others

"Hush money."

"The celebrity's lawyer quickly offered hush money to the tabloid journalist to prevent the damaging story from being published."

an amount of money that is set aside to be used for dishonest or illegal activities

"A slush fund."

"Investigators uncovered evidence of a secret slush fund used by the company to bribe officials and secure contracts."

to defeat a person or a group thoroughly, often in a very humiliating manner

"They took us to cleaners."

"The experienced lawyer took the opposing counsel to the cleaners in court, winning a landslide victory."

money that one gains without much effort and often by dishonest means

"Easy money."

"He thought the online scheme would provide him with easy money, but it turned out to be a scam."

used to refer to a person, organization, etc. that uses dishonest or illegal methods to gain money

"He is on the fiddle with his taxes."

"The accountant was on the fiddle and stole thousands of dollars from the company over many years."

money earned quickly or with ease, particularly in a dishonest way

"He made a quick buck there."

"Some dishonest traders are only interested in making a quick buck without caring about the quality of their products."

to take someone's possessions by force or without the right to do so

"They will take us to the cleaners."

"The unscrupulous landlord threatened to take his tenants to the cleaners if they failed to pay the exorbitant rent increase."