scamdemic

English

Etymology

Blend of scam +‎ pandemic. Coined by conspiracy theorists to describe the COVID-19 pandemic and the actions of governments and other organizations in response to it.

Noun

scamdemic (plural scamdemics)

1. (informal, derogatory, neologism) A period of time where the idea of an ongoing pandemic is used to defraud the general public.
   • 2020 May 1, Alexei Koseff, Trisha Thadani, “CHP arrests protesters in Sacramento who defy shelter-in-place order to demand California reopen”, in San Francisco Chronicle‎:

     A similar protest in San Francisco drew about 40 people across the back entrance to City Hall, waving American flags and holding signs, saying things like “Scamdemic!” and “Newsom is a Dictator!”

   • 2020 June 1, Craig Farrell, Ann Mooney, “Coronavirus in Ireland – McGrath calls for end to ‘scamdemic’ as TDs demand lockdown eases to help kick-start economy”, in The Irish Sun:

     “We are now at the stage where instead of having a pandemic it’s becoming a scamdemic. […] ”

   • 2021 January 6, Amanda Devlin, “Piers Morgan furiously threatens to force Covid-deniers into coronavirus wards without PPE after getting sick abuse”, in The Sun:

     "They all claim it's a 'scamdemic' and say the hospitals are empty.

   • 2021 September 9, Matt3rvrs [username], “Biden announces new vaccine mandates that could cover 100 million Americans”, in KTVZ‎, comments:

     Im^[sic] sure ol’Barn [Barney Lerten] will chime in with the “truth” lol and keep pushing the KTVZ [a local news station] Leftist agenda.. THE SCAMDEMIC CONTINUES..

2. (informal, neologism) A reference to the influx of scam cases worldwide.
   • 2021 June 11, “Global Scamdemic: Scams Become Number One Online Crime”, in Cyber Security Asean‎, archived from the original on 14 June 2021:

     Many factors have contributed to the global scamdemic, which stands for the influx of online scams during the pandemic on a scale never seen before: a multitude of fraud schemes and their modifications, the automation of most attack stages, the targeting of specific companies and industries, the many possibilities of concealing cybercriminal activity.

   • 2023 December 10, Arman Rashid, “Growing ‘Scamdemic’ due to evolving online scams”, in The Star (Malaysia)‎:

     Such rampant cybercrimes have raised concerns about an epidemic of scams – scamdemic – a term coined by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Related terms

• endemic
• plandemic
• shamdemic

Translations

time when an idea of an ongoing pandemic is used to defraud the general public

Finnish: valepandemia (fi)