a trickster, someone who pretends to be someone they are not
TRANSLATION
imposter = der Betrüger; der Gaukler; der Hochstapler; Schwindler; Blender
marriage-imposter = Heiratsschwindler
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
The 5th Century Japanese emperor Ingyo was often approached by families attempting to claim rights (as members of the nobility) to which they were not in fact entitled.
The emperor had a clever idea. He announced that, by divine revelation, he could separate those with legitimate claims from IMPOSTERS by having all claimants* immerse their arms in boiling water; only those with false claims would suffer ill effects.
This measure radically reduced the number of claimants of both types.
*claimant = der Anspruchsberechtigte
Did you know?
im-pos-ter also spelt 'impostor' noun
- One who engages in deception under an assumed name or identity.
French imposteur, from Latin impostor, one who assigns a name, from impostus, variant of impositus, past participle of imponere, to place upon.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Synonyms: impostor, pretender, fake, faker, fraud, sham, shammer, pseudo, pseud, role player
IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY say something like:
"You have to be very careful giving information over the telephone, the caller may be an imposter"