Inklingo

How to Say "scammer" in Spanish

The Spanish word forscammeris estafadorB1 level.

English → SpanishB1
nounB1
modern digital fraud
A person in a dark hooded sweatshirt sneaking away with a large bag of money with a dollar sign on it.

Examples

El estafador me llamó diciendo que era del banco.

The scammer called me saying he was from the bank.

La policía busca a un estafador que engañó a varios ancianos.

The police are looking for a swindler who tricked several elderly people.

Ese hombre es un estafador profesional; no creas nada de lo que dice.

That man is a professional con artist; don't believe anything he says.

The '-dor' ending

In Spanish, adding '-dor' to a verb root (from 'estafar' - to swindle) describes the person who does that action, much like adding '-er' in English (swindle -> swindler).

Gender matching

This entry is for the masculine form. If you are talking about a woman, simply change the ending to '-dora' (la estafadora).

Confusing with 'mentiroso'

Mistake:Calling someone an 'estafador' just for telling a small lie.

Correction: Use 'mentiroso' for a liar. Use 'estafador' only when there is a trick intended to take money or property.

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