In German there is a term Beutelschneiderei which in all dictionaries I have currently access to is being translated as "daylight robbery". However, Beutelschneiderei in German is a very picturesque word (evoking mediaeval sceneries), and my impression is that "daylight robbery" is more of a sober description of the activity.
Here is the question: What better terms could I use in an English text to render German Beutelschneiderei.
I found
cut-purse
as a term for the person involved in that business; cut-purse being an exact translation of Beutelschneider, which is the person; whereas Beutelschneiderei is the activity, or the trade, so perhaps something like
cut-pursery (?).
Note that the term Beutelschneiderei does not only describe the occupation of a person concretely cutting with a knife or scissors people's purses off their belt. It can be used also metaphorically for any fraudulent activity aiming at taking money from people without returning a due service. For example "Trump University" could in German quite correctly be refered to as Beutelschneiderei. It is this metaphorical use that I am after, not so much the original physical activity of pursecutting.
Note also that Beutelschneiderei is not a legal term. In legal terms, a cut-purse would be prosecuted for theft (Diebstahl) or robbery (Raub), because these terms are defined by penal law.
I am sure there are nice words or idioms in English, given for example the rich 19th century literature describing life in the poorer parts of society.
A concise version of this question would be: What (ideally picturesque, possibly slightly ironic) expressions are there to describe fraud?
Later found:
Having had now access to one more dictionary, I can contribute to the list (that meanwhile has formed thanks to contributors):
thievery
And finally…
… as forum members have posted quite a number of beautiful and interesting answers, and I see now that the semantic field is pretty broad, with all kinds of variables in it, here is the actual context where I want to use the expression: Speaking about various new forms of teaching and learning, I have here somebody claiming that "Providing a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) to learn leadership would simply be [your idiom for Beutelschneiderei]".
Best Answer
A well-known idiom is Highway Robbery.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/highway%20robbery
It refers to 18th Century "highwaymen" who robbed travelers on a public but unprotected road in broad daylight. Highwaymen are romanticized for being "bold" and eluding capture, and are typically depicted as being gentry or noble class with refined manners, above the "common" criminal because they own expensive items like a horse and a pistol.
The idiom is used for unfair business practices, especially price gouging, and implies the situation is somehow immune to corrective market forces, protected from competition, or taking advantage of a legal loophole.