# What is the ONE word that screams “scam” to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 13, 2025, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343 "2025-05-13T20:14:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/81 "2025-05-15T22:27:17Z")
In emails? Probably “Verify”. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/82 "2025-05-16T01:24:54Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Cite? > > I’ve always understood it to mean “regarding”, as it does in other correspondence. I always thought it was from the Latin, “in re” from legalese “in the matter of”. Later edit: well ninja’d on my poor Latin. Talis est vita. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/83 "2025-05-16T02:41:21Z")
Not a scam, but as a retired federal employee I take distributions from my TSP account monthly. Every month the TSP sends an email that says: “Your monies will be issued on (date)” Monies? Who in the hell talks like that? It screams scammer, but it’s legit. Why can’t they say “Your funds will be deposited on (date)” like a normal person would? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/84 "2025-05-16T02:48:28Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Monies? Who in the hell talks like that? It screams scammer, but it’s legit. Why can’t they say “Your funds will be deposited on (date)” like a normal person would? “Funds” is pretty much _the_ word among the scammers I deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/85 "2025-05-16T07:09:19Z")
Apple ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/86 "2025-05-16T11:19:59Z")
Haha! I do love my Mac. But I run Windows on it… Any mail that starts “Dear” or worse, “Dear $Name” is a scam. Especially the ones where “$Name” is _exactly_ the text, they could not even do a simple regex find/replace in their mail run. I hate mass mailing with a passion, having been on the sending side (to registered users, my country does not mess around in this area of the law) ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/87 "2025-05-16T11:40:17Z")
Another is: Subluxation [chiropractic] ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/88 "2025-05-16T11:59:24Z")
Just saw it and remembered: “trick” You see it a lot on Facebook. For example, there is a picture of some septuagenarian with a beautiful twenty-something model on each arm with the caption, “Urologists can’t believe how fast this trick works!” ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/89 "2025-05-16T19:27:08Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Monies? Who in the hell talks like that? It screams scammer, but it’s legit. Yea, monies does sound phony as heck. > You see, my wife she has been most vocal on the subject of the pretzel monies. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ueyCT8fN64M/maxresdefault.jpg "The Simpsons - Where's the money?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueyCT8fN64M) ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/90 "2025-05-16T21:37:45Z")
“Bespoke” and “curated” mean your $2 cup of coffee will cost you $5. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/91 "2025-05-16T21:52:26Z")
Throw in “artisanal” and we’re up to $7. ---
**Author:** ![sjankis630](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ea924/32.png) [@sjankis630](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjankis630)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/92 "2025-05-17T06:10:22Z")
For me it has evolved. It went from “forex” (foreighn exchange trading) to “crypto” to now anything immediately promoting AI. It seems to me that there are the same scams over and over and they are just taking on new buzz words as they evolve to try and get more people to bite. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/93 "2025-05-17T06:27:14Z")
Diplomat, Diplomatic (agent/courier, etc). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/94 "2025-05-17T14:58:05Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Now. Anything that must happen now is suspect to me. This or ANY form of words that’s equivalent. There is no better indication of unethical sales practices. In any situation where someone has told me “this deal ends Friday” or any similar situation, my response is always “Not for me, you’ll give me the same price next week.” 99 percent of the time they don’t argue, because such things are always bullshit. (This doesn’t apply to specials in grocery stores. That’s legit, it’s them trying to move excess inventory.) ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/95 "2025-05-17T15:36:52Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > In any situation where someone has told me “this deal ends Friday” or any similar situation Yeah, I can remember when I was first searching for flights on the internet. It was always 'Hurry! Only 3 seats left at this price!" Amazingly, the next day those 3 seats had not yet been sold. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/96 "2025-05-17T15:50:24Z")
“Military Grade” consumer products. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343/97 "2025-05-17T15:51:53Z")
Someone with a foreign accent saying my name is “Ted” or any regular English name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-one-word-that-screams-scam-to-you/1018343.md?page=4)