dot con artist
n. A person who runs an Internet-based scam or fraud.
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Etymology
Examples
2000
This collaboration with law enforcement agencies, industry and consumers will create a climate where e-commerce can be conducted with confidence," said the FTC's Bernstein. "We want the dot con artists to know that we're building a consumer protection coalition that spans the globe.
—Christine Winter, “U.S. Takes Aim at Fraud,” Sun-Sentinel, November 01, 2000
1999 (earliest)
—Matthew Benjamin, “Targeting Dot.Con Artists,” Investor's Business Daily, August 11, 1999
Notes
This phrase combines dot com with con artist, short for confidence artist (or confidence man), a person who runs a confidence game where the victim is defrauded after his or her confidence has been won. The frauds perpetrated by don con artists are called dot cons.
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