Crossword Genius

Fleece coats returned (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

scam

'fleece' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'coats returned' is the wordplay.
'coats' becomes 'macs' (mac is a kind of coat).
'returned' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'macs' in reverse letter order is 'SCAM'.

(Other definitions for scam that I've seen before include "A slangy swindle or fraud" , "rook" , "Fraud, dishonest scheme" , "Dodgy business" , "Rip off" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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