affinity fraud

American  

[uh-fin-i-tee frawd] / əˈfɪn ɪ ti ˌfrɔd /

noun

1. a fraudulent investment scheme in which a swindler preys upon members of an identifiable group, as a religious or ethnic group, often by claiming to be a member of the group and promising fellow group members special access, profit, or other benefits.

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Etymology

Origin of affinity fraud

First recorded in 1940–45

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

affinity fraud

There is no finding that Life Surge is operating an affinity fraud, and the company denies wrongdoing.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026

This type of scamming is called affinity fraud.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2023

But it was actually an affinity fraud scheme targeting unsophisticated investors, many of whom had recently arrived in the U.S. from Turkey and spoke little English, the complaint says.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 27, 2021

It was Utah’s high rate of affinity fraud, in which someone takes advantage of a trusted relationship, that led Reyes to team up with lawmakers to authorize a state-run registry of white-collar criminals.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 14, 2015

DIVORCE: Absolute for impotence, bigamy, adultery, desertion for two years, cruelty or intolerable indignities, marriage within prohibited degrees of consanguinity or affinity, fraud, conviction for felony for more than two years, lunacy for ten years.

From A Short History of Women's Rights From the Days of Augustus to the Present Time. with Special Reference to England and the United States. Second Edition Revised, With Additions. by Eugene Arthur Hecker

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