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"fraud" is also used as a crossword clue. If that's what you saw, the answer is often scam (4 letters).
Definitions
something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage
Word origin
Inherited from Middle English fraude (recorded since 1345), from Old French fraude, a borrowing from Latin fraus (“deceit, injury, offence”).
Used in a sentence
“When success a lover's toil attends, / Few ask, if fraud or force attain'd his ends.”
“But electric vehicles and the batteries that made them run became ensnared in corporate scandals, fraud, and monopolistic corruption that shook the confidence of the nation and inspired automotive upstarts.”
“to draw the proud King Ahab into fraud”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Deliberate deception”5 letters
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