Uncle Scam (Uncle Sam + scam)

“Uncle Scam” (Uncle Sam + scam) is an Uncle Sam nickname used by people who believe that the federal government is deceitful. Although the name “Uncle Sam” dates to 1812, the term “scam” is a modern one from the 1960s. A film titled Uncle Scam (1981)—a parody of 1980’s Abscam scandal—is one of the first uses of the “Uncle Scam” nickname.

The nickname “Uncle Scam” has seen increased use in the 2000s on political websites and blogs.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary
scam noun \ˈskam\
: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation
Origin of SCAM
origin unknown
First Known Use: 1963

The Internet Movie Database
Uncle Scam (1981)
105 min - Comedy - May 1981 (USA)
Directors: Michael Levanios Jr., Tom Pileggi

OCLC WorldCat record
Escándalo U.S.A. = Uncle Scam
Author: Michael Levanios, Jr.; Tom Pileggi; Tom McCarthy; Jimmy De Knight; John Russell
Publisher: Madrid A.L. Distribuciones D.L. 1985.
Edition/Format: VHS video : VHS tape Visual material : Spanish
Summary: Cuatro agentes federales preparan un gran golpe con mucho dinero en juego, y con ayuda de un jeque y dos políticos codiciosos.

31 May 1997, Titusville (PA) Herald, “Who Will Pay the New Volunteers?” by George Roche, pg. 4, col. 5:
Raise taxes and people have to work longer to pay them, since Uncle Scam, plus state and local taxes, took nearly 40 percent of the average two-earner family’s money last year.

The Firing Line Forums
Ivan8883
August 23, 1999, 08:35 PM
Deanf, here Uncle Scam detains in prison camps the Japanese Americans who lose their businesses and farms and on the other hand,after fighting a bloody war with Japan, allows most of their war crimminals to walk free over the oposition of our Allies.

Google Books
The Government
By Michael Patrick Murphy
Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, Inc.
2004
Pg. 57:
“Scam” became the phrase best associated with American and California governance. I saw a license plate the other day that said, “Beware of Uncle Scam!”

LewRockwell.com
November 19, 2007
Are Your ‘Elected Officials’ Defective?
by Tom Chartier
(...)
Even before Uncle Scam chops off his annual pound of flesh in taxes, most of us lack the funds to buy insane or corrupt politicians to do our bidding.

Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia)
Uncle scam wants you to invest in cheap US homes - and some of you already are
Scott Pape
May 22, 2011 12:00AM

The William Banzai7 Blog
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
UNCLE SCAM AND DEFICIT TIM