v. 1 cheat, cozen, bilk, defraud, deceive, hoodwink, take in, fleece, dupe, fool, mulct, gull, make a fool or sucker (out) of, victimize, exploit, trick, Old-fashioned or literary euchre, Archaic chouse, Colloq bamboozle, chisel, diddle, pull a fast one on, flimflam, pluck, burn, take (someone) for a ride, Brit fiddle, US buffalo, Slang con, sting, screw, rook, gyp, rip (someone) off The gang has swindled several elderly people out of their life savings
n. 2 fraud, confidence game or trick, cheating, swindling, defrauding, deception, racket, trickery, sharp practice, thimblerigging, chicanery, knavery, Colloq Brit fiddle, swizzle or swizz, Slang rip-off, scam, con (game), gyp, US bunco Those old-time swindles are nothing compared with the activities of unscrupulous stock brokers