A verb for helping a criminal without knowing it
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Chapters
00:00 A Verb For Helping A Criminal Without Knowing It
00:35 Accepted Answer Score 47
00:58 Answer 2 Score 18
01:23 Answer 3 Score 3
01:51 Answer 4 Score 6
02:06 Thank you
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Full question
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Tags
#singlewordrequests #meaning #wordchoice #verbs
#avk47
ACCEPTED ANSWER
Score 47
Someone who helps a criminal without knowing it is referred to as an unwitting accomplice (unwitting means not done on purpose and accomplice means a person who helps another person commit a crime):
She was an unwitting accomplice to tax fraud. (She didn't know that she was helping someone to commit tax fraud)
ANSWER 2
Score 18
dupe. TFD
n. A person who is easily deceived or is used to carry out the designs of another.
tr.v. duped, dupĀ·ing, dupes To deceive (an unwary person).
As in: Y=criminal. X=dupe
X was duped by Y into participating in a crime.
ANSWER 3
Score 6
Depending on the intentions of the criminal, "patsy" might be a good word for it. "Pigeon", "goat", "scapegoat", "pawn", and "dupe" might work in the same context as well.
ANSWER 4
Score 3
I believe the term that you can use is "unintentional accessory".
The definition for "accessory" in a legal sense is defined by Collins as:
- [H]elping in an unlawful act.
Additionally, you can find this term used in literature. For example:
... If the law has been outraged, the gentleman has been at least an unintentional accessory and whether this fact...
Hope this is helpful!