oszust

Oszust is a Polish noun meaning a person who deceives others to obtain money or property; a swindler or fraudster. The term is used for individuals who commit fraud by intentional deception, often in contexts such as financial crime or consumer scams. It can be combined with modifiers like finansowy or internetowy to form phrases such as oszust finansowy or oszust internetowy (online scammer).

Origin: the word is derived from the verb oszukać, meaning to deceive or cheat, with a suffix that marks the agent performing the action. The related noun oszustwo denotes the act or crime of fraud; other colloquial terms include naciągacz and kant, though these carry slightly different connotations.

Usage: oszust is widely used in journalism, law enforcement, and everyday language. The term is pejorative and typically denotes culpable deceit rather than mere error. It may appear in headlines like polska policja zatrzymała oszusta (police arrested a fraudster).

Legal context: in Polish criminal law, fraud (oszustwo) is a criminal offense; penalties depend on the circumstances and the amount involved. The word oszust describes the person who commits these acts rather than the act itself.