Quote Originally Posted by Seraph View Post
I made all that a little messy.

Scam = procedure, stratagem, scheme etc to defraud, steal, take money, goods, assets, away from people. Noun and verb.

Fleece = taking money, assets, goods etc improperly, immorally or illegally away from people, by what ever means.

Shafted for me usually means a large, significant amount of value stolen, withheld, not delivered , etc improperly immorally or illegally. Not just a days pay, but like life savings, or some years savings.
Good explanations above. I also told Igor that it doesn't always have to do with being swindled out of money. E.g. 'I got shafted / I got fleeced'/ They all have to do with being deceived or being taken at a disadvantage (as you explain above). Also, 'fleeced' is often used in sports terminology. "That GM just got fleeced." I just mentioned it in case the Russian speakers come across these expressions.