a trick► trick a clever plan designed to make someone believe something that you want them to believe, or do something that you want them to do: · He pretended to be sick as a trick to get her to visit him.· Don't send her any money - it might be a trick.a trick question (=a question that is cleverly designed to make someone give a wrong answer): · He refused to answer, suspecting they were asking him a trick question.
► trap a clever plan designed to harm someone, for example by making them go somewhere where they will be caught or attacked, or making them say something they will be punished for: · I didn't take the money with me, because I was worried it might be a trap.· Sensing the lawyer's trap, Horvath refused to answer.
► deception especially written something that is said or done with the deliberate intention of deceiving people: · Ann quickly saw through his lies and deceptions.· What began as a misunderstanding quickly became a deliberate deception on the part of the network.
► ruse a trick, especially one that is amusing and not very serious: · It was just a ruse to get what I wanted!· She asked to use the telephone as a ruse to enter the house.
► hoax a false warning about something dangerous, given especially to someone in an official position, for example the police: · To everybody's great relief, the bomb scare turned out to be a hoax.· I got an email about another computer virus, but I'm pretty sure it's just a hoax.
► congame/con informal a trick to get someone's money or make someone do something: · The two men were involved in an elaborate con to cheat investors out of their money.· Senior citizens are usually easy targets for con games.
► put-up job when something that happens is not what it seems to be, and is really an attempt to deceive people: · Journalists suspected that the kidnapping was a put-up job.· The demonstration was a put-up job, organized by the authorities so they could arrest the cult leaders.
► scam informal a clever and dishonest plan to get money: · The welfare scam was costing the federal government hundreds of thousands of dollars.· The offer of a "free" vacation to Florida sounds like a scam to me.
► diversion a trick that is intended to take someone's attention away from what someone else is trying to do: · Some of the prisoners started a fight as a diversion to give the others time to escape.create a diversion: · Rioters created a diversion by setting fire to vehicles close to the police station.
► decoy a person or thing that is used to trick someone by taking their attention away from an illegal or criminal act: · You act as a decoy and we'll sneak out the back.· The burglars started the fire as a decoy so that they could escape from police.
an event that seems real but has actually been arranged in order to deceive someone: 
It’s been suggested the kidnapping was a put-up job.