Word Spy - dot con artist

(dawt.CAWN ar.tist) n. A person who runs an Internet-based scam or fraud. Also: dot-con artist, dot.com artist.

Example Citation:

"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 1, 2000

Earliest Citation:

Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ... [c]urbs poaching of trademarked names for Internet addresses and imposes $100,000 fine on "dot-con artists" who profiteer.
—Elizabeth Wasserman, "Score Another Round for the Internet Industry," The Industry Standard, December 6, 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. Here's a slightly earlier citation that uses includes a dot for some reason:

—Matthew Benjamin, "Targeting Dot.Con Artists," Investor's Business Daily, August 11, 1999

Categories:

Internet
People
Crime

Posted on November 8, 2000

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