fraud

deception, fraud, double-dealing, subterfuge, trickery mean the acts or practices of one who deliberately deceives. deception may or may not imply blameworthiness, since it may suggest cheating or merely tactical resource <magicians are masters of deception>. fraud always implies guilt and often criminality in act or practice <indicted for fraud>. double-dealing suggests treachery or at least action contrary to a professed attitude <a go-between suspected of double-dealing>. subterfuge suggests the adoption of a stratagem or the telling of a lie in order to escape guilt or to gain an end <obtained the papers by subterfuge>. trickery implies ingenious acts intended to dupe or cheat <resorted to trickery to gain their ends>.

imposture, fraud, sham, fake, humbug, counterfeit mean a thing made to seem other than it is. imposture applies to any situation in which a spurious object or performance is passed off as genuine <their claim of environmental concern is an imposture>. fraud usually implies a deliberate perversion of the truth <the diary was exposed as a fraud>. sham applies to fraudulent imitation of a real thing or action <condemned the election as a sham>. fake implies an imitation of or substitution for the genuine but does not necessarily imply dishonesty <these jewels are fakes; the real ones are in the vault>. humbug suggests elaborate pretense usually so flagrant as to be transparent <creating publicity by foisting humbugs on a gullible public>. counterfeit applies especially to the close imitation of something valuable <20-dollar bills that were counterfeits>.